Death Match
by Cappucine
Summary: Everyone is competing in a new tournament. But this tournament holds more surprises than they've expected. (Redone) Please R&R!
1. I Summon You

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

**Uh, hi, guys! I am going to say one thing...I had been glancing back at a few of my past chapters in Death Match and I realized one thing. Gosh, they sucked! I was feeling a little anxious about it at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I decided...what the hell? I won't die if I rewrite it. So, after taking it down for a while, that's what I'm doing so that these make more SENSE (something I'd like to have in my stories for once)! Thank you for putting up with my rant...**

**So now that I've said that, I'm just going to make sure you guys remember that I love to get reviews! I try to respond to all reviews I receive, due to the fact of how much I am grateful for them.**

**WARNING: To anyone who read the original of this story, some original characters from before have now been removed.**

**With that said, I will begin...**

Other World was as busy as ever as new arrivals from every planet began to stream in. The blue-white mists of souls waited in the long line impatiently, conversing (or rather complaining) with the others of the deceased. It was a madhouse; the people from Earth especially were dropping like flies. They just didn't know how to take care of themselves anymore, always dying from such poor health, and occasionally an accident (the worst cases being when they were massacred by cosmically powerful enemies.)

"Boy, how do I get stuck with jobs like this...?" one of the blue people wondered. He waved his hand back and forth as he urged the souls to keep moving.

"Welcome to Other World," his fellow worker smiled as he greeted the souls. "Welcome to the afterlife, ma'am. Welcome to Other World..."

"When do we get our coffee break?" the first one inquired of his coworker, still waving his hand.

"I have no idea," he replied. "You know the boss has to give the signal...and he's busy."

Within the gigantically astounding office complete with desk, lamp, intercom, and television set, the colossus King Yemma looked down upon his newest arrivals. The two women, Sena and Dea, stared up at him with surprising patience.

The former was dressed in a casual outfit of a white long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black jeans. She'd pulled her cranberry-colored hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of her face.

The latter was dressed similarly, only her shirt was a dark brown. Her dark purple, short-like-a-guy's hair and small nose stud gave King Yemma the impression that she was somewhat tomboyish.

"Sena and Dea," he murmured as he browsed at their files, flipping through the papers, humming now and then. He paused and tapped a finger on his desk.

"Well?" Sena snarled.

"Eh? Oh!" He sat up to attention just when he remembered that the clients were standing right in front of him. "Um, yes..."

Dea sighed.

"You two have done quite a few bad things in your life, you know. Your reputation is rather questionable...However, you did try to selflessly save each other just before you died."

"Will you hurry up?"

"S-So, you've been granted the privilege of keeping your bodies, and you'll be training with King Kai, of course!" He grinned sheepishly.

The two remained silent, until finally King Yemma wiped at his sweaty brow and pressed the button on his intercom. "Hello, please contact King Kai...tell him to come here immediately."

"Yes sir."

. . . . . .

**Years later...**

On the planet Earth, things were as placid as could be. In a small valley surrounded by beautiful green hills and clear blue skies, a small breeze swept over the tall grass and harmless insects buzzed by. But it was not to remain peaceful, as a young girl stepped out into the 'open enclosure' of the hill-surrounded plains.

"My, my, you have chosen a nice spot," a small voice said to the girl. "Too bad the serenity isn't meant to last..."

"Let's get it over with, then," she replied, and swung her large, dark blue bag off from her shoulder. She threw it down in the ground and knelt down to zip it open.

"Remember what to do?" the voice asked.

"Yes, of course I remember," she answered. "Lay the Dragon Balls out and summon the dragon, then ask for the wishes." She dumped the orange balls out onto the grass, and they rolled for several inches before halting. She stood and glanced down to her electric companion. "Finally. All the searching paid off, eh?"

The tiny computer screen flashed a neon green volume wave as it spoke. "So make the wish, already."

The girl frowned at the computer, and then stretched her palms out toward the Dragon Balls and shouted with a serious face. "Eternal Dragon! I summon you! Wake from your sleep!"

Silence hovered over the quaint setting for a moment. Then, the orange balls began to glow a bright gold, and overhead the clear skies vanished. Dark clouds appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and deep rumbles of thunder accompanied magnificent flashes of lightning. Howling winds started blowing the girl's short black hair, and she stepped back several paces.

Then, the balls glowed even brighter and a large, serpentine form began to snake its way up into the sky. The girl shielded her eyes from the light as she stared at the slithering form of Shenron, his miles of slender body coiling up into the heavens.

"Ah..." She stared in awe at his glorious, emerald-green form, nearly scared to the point of fainting.

Shenron finally looked down at the girl with hot glowing eyes and bared fangs. His huge, elegant legs were spread out to his sides with his claws flexed. "You have disturbed me from my slumber. Speak," he growled.

The girl cowered for a second, still shielding her eyes, before mustering enough courage to shout up at him. "I have a wish!"

"You have two wishes. State them..."

"My first wish is to have my second wish successfully prepared by the end of the next two months!"

"It shall be done. Your second wish..."

"I wish to see the greatest fights in the universe!" This time she was smiling ambitiously as she clenched her fist.

"It shall be done," the dragon answered as his eyes glowed. "Now I return to my slumber. Farewell..."

The darkened clouds dispersed just as quickly as they had formed, and the howling winds died down to their original breeze. Shenron had returned to his rest within the balls, and they floated up into the air before they separated, shooting off into the distance.

The girl looked up into the sky unsurely, until she picked her bag back up, pulling the strap over her shoulder. But something seemed different...her bag wasn't as empty and light as it should have been. What...?

She opened it up and smiled in her sudden joy. "Money!" She dug her hand into the endless pile of crisp paper money and pulled out a handful of hundred-zeni bills. "We're rich! Morgan, do you see this?"

"Yes..." the small computer answered from where it sat attached to the girl's leather belt.

"We're rich! Look at all of this! Huh?" She turned around to find more bags identical to her own, all containing money. There were hundreds of them lying around! They were everywhere! Dark blue bags overflowing with riches. "Oh my gosh!" She squealed in delight.

"I must say I'm impressed," Morgan said.

The girl began to grab all of the bags up hastily. "This is incredible! We just became richer than Hercule Satan! Think about it, Morgan, you could get a bigger data frame! You'd be smarter than you are even now!" The girl paused at the thought. "Never mind..."

Morgan gave a resentful 'humph.' "Come on, get these together. We can't have them lying out in the open."

"There's too many of them." She glanced around to the rest of the bags, turning every which way. "I can't get them all."

"This is going to take work. Find someplace to hide them until we get back to the city. Then we can worry about hiring someone to retrieve them. After that, the real work begins for the tournament..."

. . . . . .

**Two months later...**

Chain held her fists up in defense, panting as she glared up at her father. They were in the middle of another sparring session, and Vegeta was pushing her harder than ever.

Vegeta held a fist back, and then rammed it into her face once more. She flew back a few feet until she crashed at the other end of the GR. "I told you to defend yourself," he growled.

"You move too fast," she told him, rising to her feet.

"Then move faster, too."

"I am moving faster." She put her hands up once more.

Once again, Vegeta smashed his fist into Chain's face, too swift for her to possibly block. She staggered back, then found her balance and frowned up at him with indignation.

"Go take a break," he ordered, folding his arms over his chest.

Chain rubbed at the sore, purple-blue mark that quickly formed on her cheekbone and exited the GR as she was told. Who knew training could be so rough!

She headed into the living room where Bulma was sitting at the couch, legs crossed, lost in one of her science magazines. She lowered her article and gasped at the sight before her. "Chain, what happened?"

The small girl was silent as she looked up at her mother with a pout-y face, her purple bruise standing out conspicuously on her cheek. She slumped over.

"Oh, not again," Bulma groaned, and stood up from her chair, tossing her magazine down. She approached Chain and took her hand firmly within hers. "Come on, I'll go find you something for that."

The half-Saiyan reluctantly followed Bulma out of the living room and to the hallway, where they ascended the staircase quickly to find some ointment in the bathroom cabinets. Chain scowled...

. . . . . .

Pan was walking down the sidewalk, her dark green (not to mention heavy) backpack slung over her shoulder. She gripped the strap tightly as she stared ahead, and passed by an entire wall of advertisements. From the corner of he eye, she saw nothing interesting among them, the same ads for cell phones or drinks...

Wait, there was a new one. Pan always checked the new ads; it was something she had made a habit of. She halted in her swift steps and glanced at the small sheet of paper. '_Martial Arts Tournament this Saturday at Hurricane Archipelago, featuring the strongest fighters in the world..._'

Pan grinned as she observed the paper. "All I need to know!" she exclaimed, and continued on down the path until she reached her apartment.

. . . . . .

Ring. Telephone. Videl answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Mom. Let me talk to Dad," Pan requested on the other end, and Videl nodded.

"Sure. Gohan!" She held the phone away at arm's length as she shouted out through the house. "Phone!"

Gohan Son came down the stairs into the living room, where he took the telephone from his wife. "Hello?"

"Dad," Pan answered, "it's me. I saw an ad today that I thought you might take an interest in. There's going to be a tournament this Saturday at a place called Hurricane Archipelago. I'm entering, how about you?"

"Hm." Gohan grinned. "I'm not that busy this Saturday. And I miss the tournaments. Sure, Pan. I think I'll go ahead and enter this Saturday."

"Enter what?" Videl wondered from the other end of the room.

"So do you want to meet up before we leave?" Pan suggested. "I think it'd be a good idea if we left for the archipelago together, but of course that's just me."

"No, I think it's a good idea," he nodded. "Come by any time before then, honey."

"Yes sir. Bye, Dad."

Gohan replaced the phone on its hook and turned to his wife. She had asked him about what they were talking about. "There's this tournament on Saturday. I told Pan I'd compete since she's going to."

"Another tournament, Gohan?" The Son woman sighed in exasperation, putting a hand to her forehead.

"Hey, it's been a while," he told her. "I'd like to brush up on my skills."

"I know..."

Gohan laughed nervously with a small smile, putting a hand behind his head.

. . . . . .

Pan reached for her phonebook and flipped through the white lined pages, glancing at each of the numbers, before stopping at the page she was searching for. She set her finger at Bra's number to mark it, then turned her phone on to begin dialing.

After dialing (and a long wait while the phone rang) Bra answered on the other end. "Bra speaking."

"Yo," Pan answered.

**'Aha. Only one person answers like that,'** she thought to herself, grinning. "Hi, Pan."

"Bra, I saw an ad. There's a tournament this Saturday," Pan told her excitedly.

"No kidding."

"Yeah, and I'm going to enter. I was going to say that you should, too. It'd be fun. What do you say?"

"Oh, I don't know," Bra answered, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "It's been a long week and I'm tired."

"Come on, Bra. The tournaments are only every few years," Pan reasoned with a begging tone. "At least tell your family. I'm calling mine."

"Sure. I'll tell my family. And I'll think about entering, as well."

"Cool. Talk to you later," her friend replied, and promptly set the phone back down on the hook. Now there was just her grandfather and uncle left to notify of the news, and she was certain that the former at least would be entering.

. . . . . .

"A tournament?" Bulma struggled to keep a hold of her daughter while she kept the phone up to her ear with her shoulder.

Chain suddenly ceased her fidgeting. "Tournament?" she repeated.

Bulma listened for a long moment, until finally she reached up to the phone with her hand to secure it. "Yeah. I'll do that. Thanks for calling, then, Bra. Bye." She set her cordless phone down and firmly pulled Chain in closer. "Now be still."

"What tournament?" she inquired.

Bulma dabbed another cotton swab with ointment and put it to Chain's large, dark, bleeding bruise. The half-Saiyan breathed in sharply through her teeth at the sting. "It's a tournament this Saturday. And I'm not going to tell your father about our possibly going unless you let me finish with this."

The young girl grudgingly kept still as Bulma took out a large gauze pad and some tape to cover her abrasion.

**Boy, this was a long chapter! Hope it was better than the first one. Please review!**


	2. One, Two

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

**I want to sincerely thank both animeprincess1452 and Trugeta for reviewing my first redone chapter of this story! You're both truly awesome, and I appreciate you reviewing again!**

**To animeprincess1452: Thank you for that compliment! I do hope you like it better than my original start, at least. And thank you for saying that the first one was good...Anyway, thanks for feeling okay with the change!**

**To Trugeta: Thank you for supporting my decision to rewrite this story! You don't know how much that means to me, so thanks! And yes, you'll see fights that are more interesting than the last (I hope), as I'm changing a few of the fights with who faces off against whom.**

**Second chapter then, something completely new! Hope you like!**

King Kai studied their form and their actions carefully. He was proud of these women; Sena and Dea were hardworking and unrelenting, training night and day without being told. They had made remarkable progress since they were first placed under his instruction.

. . . . . .

**Flashback...**

"That's it, Sena. You know your goal, now achieve it!" King Kai told her while Dea stood by.

Sena started to yell, as she stood tall and tensed, her fists clenched tightly. Her eyes were widened as if she was insane, and a white, engulfing aura subtly rang as it tried to spike higher. The power-aura created a powerful wind around her, blowing her cranberry-colored hair back.

**'I can get it,'** she thought. **'I'm going to get it or I'm going to try until I can't any more.'** For so many years she'd resented the fact that she wasn't strong enough. That being the oldest of her siblings she was the farthest behind, and that she might never catch up to their level. And she'd paid for it with more than her pride; she'd paid for it with her life! Now she almost had it. The ascension of a Super Saiyan was right at her fingertips, and she wasn't going to allow it to slip away.

Yelling even louder, she held her arms out to the sides, and mentally commanded herself to keep raising her level. She thought back to all of those times that she stood by as her younger siblings surpassed her level. What she had tortured herself to get they easily achieved, almost as if their power had just been handed to them.

Indescribable rage and jealousy started to build up inside her. Her suppressed anger and hatred was growing to the point that it would flood out past the dam.

And suddenly, they saw it. A sudden golden spike in Sena's aura, like an electric spark. For a second her energy field returned to the normal white envelopment, until two more gold flashes finally burst out to the actual ascension.

Her Ki flared out to an incredibly high degree, and a high-pitched frequency – almost like a howling ring – pierced the air. A wind-like force blew her thick blonde hair over her shoulder, and her sharp jade eyes shone brightly.

But something was amiss...her already surprisingly high aura started to grow even more. Soon the pavement beneath her feet began to crumble and break into hundreds of tiny, fractured pieces, and electric sparks flashed here and there over her Ki field.

Dea tried not to let her frightened expression show. She'd seen a Super Saiyan before, but never had it been so intimidating. For only a Super Saiyan, Sena's Ki was unusually powerful, and for some odd reason it wasn't halting in its growth. And that look...it was so calm and murderous at the same time. Dea...was scared...

"Oh, this is just going to get worse," King Kai told her, and the two slowly backed off.

Sena winced. As her strength involuntarily continued to get bigger, she found that finally turning Super Saiyan was extremely painful. A stabbing sensation was searing into her skin, very slowly and steadily. She'd pushed herself too far; this was too fast of ascension for her!

She began to groan in the horrible pain. It was gradually becoming more excruciating. Before she knew what was going on, she felt like someone was pouring hot, boiling water into her veins and applying burning metal all over her skin. Her groans rose to loud screams, until suddenly a larger golden flash in her Ki flared out.

But it was too much too soon. In the sudden eruption of a Super Saiyan Two, all of that energy overwhelmed her, and no sooner had she transformed than she suddenly fell to the ground, unconscious.

"What...happened...?" Dea stammered, one of the few times she actually spoke.

King Kai was so shocked that he never replied.

It was three entire weeks of staying in bed, recovering from her ordeal, until Sena was ready to tackle the power-up again, and practiced for months on end until she was able to harness her Super Saiyan Two abilities. Everything was a challenge, nothing was easy; but that was what made it worth the work. It was what Saiyans were driven to do.

The entirety of it was stunning. Never had King Kai (and especially Dea) seen such a thing in their lives.

. . . . . .

**End Flashback...**

Now the two women were in the middle of a sparring session. They threw hit after hit at one another while King Kai kept on correcting their form and their moves.

"What are you doing, Dea? More defense, and move faster. You'll never get anywhere if you keep that up."

Despite her annoyance at his never-ending remarks, she did as she was told. Bracing her body even more, she flew at Sena and brought a hit up near her face.

The elder caught the hit within her palm and held it back, then kicked Dea aside.

She landed on the ground, and got some dark grass stains on her pants and the palms of her hands. She stood back up and scowled at Sena.

"Good try, Dea. But you know you can do better," her instructor said.

"I vote we take a break for food," she said.

Sena nodded. "Agreed."

King Kai considered this. "Hm...Well, you two have been working very hard lately. You deserve a break."

The two women started to head toward the small house, leaving King Kai to gaze out at the horizon. **'Things have certainly changed since they showed up. And I'm not the only one to realize this. Well, these two certainly have been doing a good job...I just wonder how the other one's doing?'**

**There was the next chapter, then. I hope you guys liked it. Review!**


	3. Unexpected Trip

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

**Thank you very, very much to everyone who read the last chapter, and especially to everyone who reviewed, for I doubt that I'd continue without your supportive feedback! So, I raise my glass to Trugeta, animeprincess1452, Brutal2003, and Katana Midori-Fading Shadow!**

**To Trugeta: Thank you for the compliment, it makes me feel good on my work on that chapter! I hope you like this chapter, then!**

**To animprincess1452: Once again, thanks for the very much-appreciated compliment! I'm glad you liked the chapter! So I hope you like this one, then!**

**To Brutal2003: Thanks for reviewing, and I hope that this next chapter was worth the...short wait!**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: Thanks! No, rest-assured it was coming back. I took it down for some time to rewrite it, but the same basic storyline is the same. Anyway, good to hear from you again!**

**Here's the chapter, then, guys!**

**Saturday morning...**

There was no possible way that the news of the tournament could escape Goku. And naturally, he had no intentions of passing up this opportunity. So that morning he was sure to get his strength up with a healthy breakfast and an intense warm-up session.

The powerful Saiyan predicted that this year's fights were going to be very interesting. There were many things he was excited to see: How well some of the contestants were going to do, for one, especially the hardworking girls Pan, Bra, and Chain. And for another, Goku was hoping that he would get the chance to fight Vegeta. The proud Saiyan Prince had worked himself to the near point of death, and the results were more than astounding. He couldn't wait to face off against him.

Goku brushed up on his techniques and his movement. He started off slowly and easily, putting one arm back and another forward with steady movement, then turned in the other direction where he balanced himself neatly in a complex position. Then, he suddenly became more focused, and struck out into the air with several swift punches and a couple of kicks.

In the meantime, Chi-Chi, who was suspiciously curious about the location of the tournament, had turned on the news in hopes to finding out a bit more about it. She switched through several of the news channels until she found what she was looking for.

She leaned in close toward the small screen on the table, supporting herself with her hands set on her knees.

"_Good morning and welcome to Weather News._" The anchorwoman introduced herself, and then, after a short bit about the weather over the local area, she finally brought up the subject of Hurricane Archipelago. "_An uninhabited chain of islands, Hurricane Archipelago is well-known for its hot springs, geysers, and of course its annual hurricane, from which it received its name. Recently, people have been flocking to one of the islands in order to see the martial arts tournament, which is taking place later this very afternoon._"

It sounded very interesting. What a place to hold a tournament; it would definitely provide an exciting background. She turned around to see her youngest son. He was wearing one of his dark blue training outfits, one in much the same style of his father's. "So you're going to the tournament, then?"

"Yeah," Goten replied. "Everyone else is..."

"But you're not enthusiastic about it?"

"Maybe when I see this place. It depends," he told her.

Then, an interesting note in the news caused them to stare back at the television screen once more. "_The preliminary rounds of the tournament are supposed to be held on a separate day from the finals. Originally, the sponsor of the tournament intended to hold the preliminaries on Day One, and the finals on Day Two. However, a sudden overwhelming number of contestants have entered, and the sponsor has been forced to hold the preliminaries for several more days than expected. The actual number of days has still been undecided..._"

. . . . . .

"Hm." Bulma inspected the bluish-greenish-purple spot on Chain's cheekbone. "You're just not healing quickly, are you?"

Chain pouted. The small bruise – okay, so it wasn't so small – was raw and particularly sore to the touch. Vegeta didn't know his own strength.

"Well, let's get you patched up." Bulma took out an unopened package of gauze pads and some more white bandage tape from the cabinets.

"Aw, Mom...it's embarrassing. What are people going to think when they see me enter the tournament with this huge bandage on my face?"

"I'm sure they won't think anything, dear. It's better than entering with a huge cut on your face, I can tell you that." She gently placed the thick gauze pad over the mark, and then taped it down.

"So is Bra competing or what?" the half-Saiyan inquired somewhat sulkily.

"I think so." Bulma stored the pads and tape back in the cabinets.

"When are we leaving?" Chain glanced up at her mother from the corners of her eyes.

"Just as soon as your father is ready, I guess. He's in the GR, probably warming up. You know, it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to get ready, either. Maybe your father can help you."

"No thanks..." She lightly set her knuckles upon the bandage over her scrape.

. . . . . .

Dea panted heavily where she was on her knees on the ground. Her eyes were closed in fatigue, and her brow was positively dripping with sweat. She could feel the heat of her breath at the tip of her nose every time she exhaled.

"What's up with you?" Sena asked as she crossed her arms.

Dea silently shook her head while King Kai kept over to the side.

"Come on, we're still fighting, here," the elder sister proclaimed, and went into a relaxed fighting stance.

Dea didn't get up. Instead, she stayed in her spot, and supported her upper body with her hands leaning out into the grass. She continued to pant, though the heavy inhales and exhales steadily began to slow down.

"Oh, jeez..." Sena straightened up and stared disappointedly at her sister.

"Hey, you push her pretty hard," King Kai said. "Let her have a break."

"I push her hard? Never mind..." The tall woman turned and started to head off toward the small house for a drink, when she suddenly halted in her steps.

"Hm?" King Kai glanced over to her. "Something wrong?"

Sena slowly blinked before carefully glancing over in the others' direction from the corners of her eyes. She suddenly clenched her fists, and her eyes narrowed. Her Fight or Flight instincts were suddenly rushing into her stomach, lungs, and legs, and she held her breath.

King Kai followed her gaze out into the atmosphere, and then he sensed it. An abrupt vibration through the air itself was headed in their direction. But what was it...?

Dea looked up as she, too, sensed the sudden violent wave coming at them. Something was about to happen, but what?

Before any of them knew what was going on, a strange sensation entered their insides, like an invisible hand reaching into their stomachs and yanking them forward forcefully. In their panic, they each instinctively shut their eyes and crossed their arms in front of their faces protectively, bracing themselves for whatever was about to follow.

**There's the third chapter! I feel a lot better about this one than the original, but that's only my opinion. Please tell me what you think, because I always value everyone's opinion! Review!**


	4. Arrival

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

**Thank you so much for reviewing the last chapter, guys! You don't know how much those mean to me, because they always keep me motivated! So here's to Trugeta, animeprincess1452, and Katana Midori-Fading Shadow!**

**To Trugeta: I'm glad I was able to bring out the humor in the chapter! Chain's in for a real 'treat' once everyone sees her, I bet I can say that. Also I'm glad that the whole tournament issue is easier to understand now. Thanks!**

**To animeprincess1452: Thanks again for your wonderful compliment! Yes, they're ready to head out to 'battle.' Hope you like this chapter!**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: I'm glad that this story is doing a better job than it was at first, thank you for letting me know! It makes me happy!**

**Here's the chapter, then...**

Sena, Dea, and King Kai finally opened their tight-shut eyes to view their surroundings. But where they expected to see a large patch of grass all the way to the horizon, and beyond that yellow-white clouds and the long stretching path of Snake Way, they now looked upon a violent geyser not five feet in front of them.

Hot boiling water shot up into the air, and a misty spray of hot liquid blew out at them in a small breeze. They were standing a little too close to this geyser for comfort.

As they backed off casually, though, their steady pace slowed down uncertainly as they found that there were people staring at them. The small group circled around the hot geyser appeared to be tourists. What were tourists doing here, though? Or, a better question might have been, what were they doing among the tourists?

They stood for an uncomfortable amount of time in the midst of the small group, just letting the stares flow over in their direction. None of them said a word, until finally Dea gave a small 'humph' and walked away.

**'I wish I was as brave as her,'** Sena thought, and hesitantly followed her young sibling, hoping that soon the scarlet hue in her face would fade away.

"Hey...wait...!" King Kai called, and shuffled along after them.

On the other side of the island, two ambitious soon-to-be competitors had just arrived, and stood staring out at the setting. Trunks and his wife, Demi, glanced from right to left. "Well, what do you think?" he asked her.

"It's not that bad," she replied. "Could be worse."

Suddenly, a huge geyser that was very close to their right erupted, and huge drops of water splattered out near their feet. They moved off to the left in order to keep some distance between them and the landmark. "Yep," Trunks remarked.

"Is anyone else here, yet?" She gave a general search for Ki over the island, not sensing any of her friends. Luckily for two certain women (and maybe even herself), she'd overlooked a couple of important people...

Trunks followed her example and sensed for the energy of his friends. Having just about the same luck as Demi, he shrugged. "I guess not. We must be the first ones."

"So what do we do now?" she asked, folding her arms at him as her dark purple hair fell over her shoulder.

"Let's just hang out for a while. We're not in a hurry." He looked down at her to make sure she approved.

Demi nodded at him, and the young couple headed off down the dirt path. All around, more geysers and bubbling geothermal springs caught their eyes. The small, colorful, blooming flora growing next to them gave a rather wild but lovely impression for the setting. **'Yeah,'** Demi thought as she grinned to herself, **'this place isn't so bad. Now I just wonder what the stadium is like?'**

Trunks glanced down at his wife. "What are you smiling about?" he asked her. She normally didn't allow such moderately pleased expressions to show, though she did a bit more these days.

Immediately, her grin vanished, only to be replaced by a frown. "Nothing." She stared ahead, hoping he'd ignore her, and soon an opening in the dirt path caught her attention. A clearing not several meters ahead provided space for a more recognizable venue.

Shops on every corner were set up, mainly souvenir shops and food stands. People gathered around the small attractions, browsing at items on display as well as menus. Now this was more of a familiar setting.

"We'll stay around here. For all I know about your friends, they'll end up coming around here to eat or something. Better chance of running into them that way," Demi said.

"Yeah," he nodded, and the two proceeded to browse half-interestedly at the shops.

Not long after, the Sons arrived on the island. Goku was the first to suggest where they head to first, recommending one of the food stands.

**'Where else?'** Goten thought sarcastically, and silently followed his parents out along the path.

Soon, everyone else showed up in their own sweet time. Gohan, Videl, and Pan took a look around for any familiar faces, while Vegeta, Bulma, and Chain all minded their own business. The more independent Bra, who'd shown up alone, was hoping to find that Pan might already be on the island.

The small groups stayed together, but wandered about nonetheless in hopes of finding one another. They all had the same idea, though: Stay around the food stands. Where else would a group of probably hungry (demi-)Saiyans go while they waited for the start of a tournament?

"Any idea what's going on?" King Kai asked Sena and Dea.

They both glanced around, taking in what they saw. Lots of people on an island, seemingly waiting for something to arrive or begin. Not too far off was a huge metal wall...

"A tournament," Sena answered.

"Hm." King Kai browsed about himself before finally coming to the conclusion that she must be right. "Tournament, eh?"

"I think I might enter." Sena looked at her sister. "How about you?"

Dea nodded. After all, why not? They weren't really going anywhere, and they didn't have anything else to do while they were here. Whatever the reason of their presence was, that is...

"Sure," King Kai consented (although he knew they'd do whatever they wanted regardless.) "Let's see how well your training's paid off."

And so they each went onward to search for the entrance of the stadium – wherever the entrance was on the huge building– to enlist and compete, unknowing that this tournament was to be one of the greatest tournament in the history of this planet...

**Chapter four finished! How was it so far? Review, please!**


	5. Not a Bad Place

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

**My truly appreciative thanks to everyone who has read my story, and even more to those who have reviewed! You're all awesome! Thank you to Erica, Spring Rain of Harusame, Katana Midori-Fading Shadow, animeprincess1452, and Trugeta!**

**To Erica: I saw your review in chapter three, so I wanted to thank you for it now! Yes, Trunks is in this story, if you look at chapter four. He's also in this chapter. Hope you like it!**

**To Spring Rain of Harusame: Thank you for your compliment! It makes me happy to have those! I will try to update as often as I possibly can. Thanks for the motivation!**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: Thanks so much! You really do make me feel good about my hard work with your compliments, so thank you once again!**

**To animeprincess1452: Thank you again! Yes, they're entering, and I'm glad you still like the idea! I'm also changing who fights whom for the preliminaries and finals, so that they'll (hopefully) be more interesting.**

**To Trugeta: Thank you! Yes, the reaction of the Z-gang to the two women will be different in here. We have yet to see it, though!**

**Well, on with the chapter!**

About an hour later into the early morning, some of the group(s) finally met up. Goten turned to see Trunks and Demi not that far from where he stood. He headed over in their direction to greet them genially, giving them a small wave.

"Hey, what's up?" Trunks grinned. Demi remained silent, glaring at Goten in her usual manner.

"Not much. So, are you both competing in the tournament?" Goten was sure that Trunks, at least, was going to enlist for the fights. Demi, however...she was a bit more unpredictable as far as figuring out what she wanted to do went.

"Yeah," Trunks replied. "Which reminds me, which one of us won last time?"

"I couldn't tell you. I was out for about a day last time we fought, remember?"

Demi smirked to herself. **'This explains a lot.'**

Not long into their small conversation, Goku and Chi-Chi caught up to their youngest son, and greeted their friends politely...well, Goku was less refined and more outgoing.

"Say, Trunks," Goku said after greeting him, "are your parents here?"

"Maybe. I haven't seen them, but I haven't really checked for their Ki in a while, either."

Demi suddenly scowled up at her husband. "Are we going to get going, or what?" she interrupted.

"Uh, we'd better go sign up now. Demi and I, I mean" Trunks told them. "It was good to see you guys again. See you at the stadium, I guess."

Goten glanced back at his parents, then caught up with his friend. "I'm just going to go with you."

The three young adults went to search for the stadium entrance, and soon enough they found it. People were already piling in to take their seats for the event, heading through the gigantic metal entryway in large crowds. They couldn't see inside too well, though. They'd have to wait for the starting rounds to see the inside of the stadium.

They headed over to a small side entrance near the main opening where a man dressed in uniform met them at a small stand. "Welcome," he said. "If you're looking for seats to watch the fights, please talk to the man over there."

They each glanced back to yet another man in uniform, who was moving the people along by waving his hand. "We're not," Goten told him. "We want to enter the tournament to fight."

The man smiled. "Well, you have excellent timing. It's about two hours or more until the preliminary rounds begin, so you'll have plenty of time to prepare. Please just sign here." He pointed to the large book on the stand, and Goten took up a pen and scribbled his name down.

Trunks and Demi did the same.

"We are holding the preliminary rounds today, tomorrow, and the day after."

"You've got to be kidding," Trunks remarked. That seemed like quite a long time to have the preliminary rounds.

"I was surprised, myself. The number of people we have competing even now has absolutely overwhelmed us. None of us, including the sponsor, were truly prepared to get such a high number of competitors. We notified our sponsor, and were told to protract them for however long is necessary. Thus, we've extended it for three days. And, if people continue to enter, we may have to extend it for even longer."

"Wow," Trunks murmured.

"So the competition is pretty fierce this year, huh?" Demi said. "It'll be good for you boys to practice up some in the preliminaries."

"What about you?" Goten asked her.

She smirked at him as if saying, 'I don't need to practice.'

"You may enter our anteroom, now, if you wish. Many of the other contestants have already gone inside to prepare themselves for the beginning matches."

"That might be a good idea," Goten nodded.

The anteroom was quite unlike anything they'd seen before. Clearly the sponsor had spared no expense in building the stadium. Inside there were about five large practice areas (which were similar to mini-arenas, complete with boundary poles and durable tile), which a few humans had already taken advantage of as they sparred and warmed up. To the other end of the room, away from the practice rings were hundreds of luxurious chairs (almost all of them were occupied, though.) And yet beyond them were double-doors that led to a cafeteria...no, a restaurant!...where the scent of cooking food couldn't fail to tempt the half-Saiyans.

"Wow, look at this place," Goten said.

"Pretty impressive, huh, Demi?"

She nodded quietly to Trunks as she continued to take in her surroundings.

"Wait until the others get a load of this place," Trunks grinned, while searching for three empty seats that might be next to one another.

. . . . . .

Bra had finally found her friend Pan after searching almost everywhere for her. The two women greeted one another warmly as they embraced.

"Man, it's been forever," Pan said, and stood back to look at her good friend. "Hey, not bad," she grinned, commenting on her outfit.

Gohan and Videl were a bit surprised to see that Bra had abandoned her usual 'feminine-and-in-style' look for an easy training outfit, a pair of black pants and a loose, light gray sleeveless shirt.

"Thanks," Bra replied, but she noticed that Gohan himself had deserted his usual formal attire for black training gi. "Have you guys seen my family anywhere around here? I called my mom some time ago and told her about the event."

"We haven't seen them," Gohan said. "But they're probably here, if I know your father and Chain."

"Probably," she agreed. "So, you are going to fight this year, right, Gohan?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "It's been a long time. I'm ready for some action again. What about you, Bra? I've heard rumors that you've been working real hard lately."

She smiled modestly. "I've been trying. I did manage to make it to Super Saiyan since last time we met."

"Cool. Same here," Pan told her.

"I would say I'm ready for some action, myself, yeah. By the way, did you guys sign up, yet?"

"Not yet." Pan glanced at her watch. "We might as well, though. It's getting near afternoon. What do you guys think?" She glanced toward her parents for their approval.

"Sure."

"Good," Bra replied. "Maybe we can get there before my idiot brother does." The four of them proceeded on down the path toward the large stadium, where they were just about to have a closer look at what was going on...

**There you have it! I hope this chapter was enjoyable. Review, please!**


	6. Good Luck

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

**I would like to give my most sincere thanks to everyone who is reading this story, and most of all to those of you who are reviewing! You inspire me so much; you're all just spectacular! So here are my dedicated thanks to Spring Rain of Harusame, Trugeta, Katana Midori-Fading Shadow, animeprincess1452, Western Master 3, Brutal2003, and TIGERGRRrr!**

**To Spring Rain of Harusame: Thank you! And don't worry; the fighting's going to get here soon enough. Hope you enjoy this chapter, too, then!**

**To Trugeta: Thank you so much for letting me know! I try real hard, you know. And yes, the action's coming...hm...soon!**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: Thanks! Well, um...no, Hanna's not in here anymore. But not to worry, I haven't taken that type of action out completely. In fact, I'm planning a little surprise for later on! I think (and hope) that you'll like it!**

**To animeprincess1452: Thank you once again! And that's a great word, too. Prelims! I think that's got to be one of the coolest words I've heard, second only to sassafras!**

**To Western Master 3: I'm glad I caught your interest, and I hope you like how this chapter goes!**

**To Brutal2003: Thank you! And oh, don't I know it! I'm still wearing a pair of glasses to keep Gohan from hitting me (inside joke with Trugeta.)**

**To TIGERGRRrr, chapter 1: Thank you so much! I am glad that I've done a good job in your opinion (as you may have noticed, I value everyone's opinions!)**

**To TIGERGRRrr, chapter 5: Here you go, then! A quick update if I say so myself, no?**

**On with the chapter, then, guys!**

Coincidentally, Gohan, Videl, Pan, and Bra all made it to the stand to sign up just when the others did. Goku and Chi-Chi arrived alongside them, as well as Bulma, Vegeta, and Chain. Many 'Hello's' were exchanged, including some fond embraces between the women.

"Bra. Haven't seen you in a while," Vegeta told his daughter with that rare tone of voice that, for once, wasn't deep and aggravated. But he was usually like that with his favorite daughter.

"Hey, Chain," Pan greeted the fellow part-Saiyan before blinking in shock. "What happened to your face?"

"Nothing," she snapped, shooting her mother a sharp glance that said 'I told you so...'

"Would you look at the size of this stadium," Bulma commented, barely noticing her daughter's anger as she marveled at the wall before her with a dropped jaw.

"I know," Chi-Chi chimed. "It's huge."

"I wonder what the interior looks like," the latter said, and turned to her friends. "You guys going to head inside now, or later?"

"Now," Goku replied, and wrote his name in the book that was on the stand. "This place looks great. I'm excited to see what it's like in there."

"Sir," the employee in uniform said to Goku. "If this is your family here, I was given instructions to let them know that there are special seat reservations specifically for them."

"Wow, good service," he grinned.

"Seat reservations?" Chi-Chi wondered, a curious smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Yes, ma'am," the man nodded. "For any family members or close acquaintances of our contestants. Your seats are in a safe location that also provides an excellent view of the battles. You may also request refreshments and items from our attendants at any time during the matches."

"Wow, that is good service," Bulma proclaimed, and the three women smiled. At last they were getting the treatment they deserved, having putting up with their Saiyan mates for so long.

"Also, the preliminary rounds have been extended for approximately four days, due to the number of participators we have."

"Four days?" they all (excepting Vegeta, of course) exclaimed simultaneously.

"Yes. Thus, we hope that you will enjoy staying in our hotel these next few nights while the matches continue."

"I had no idea you guys had a hotel," Videl said.

"It's behind the other side of the stadium, so unless you arrived from over there, you will not have seen it. We've reserved rooms for all of you, from which you may choose where you would like to stay. In the meantime, please enjoy the preliminaries."

"That we will," Bulma nodded after swiftly recovering from her shock of how long the beginning rounds were to last. **'It might be a nice type of vacation, anyway,'** she thought. And the best part was that it was free, for the man hadn't mentioned any prices, and she was sure that he would have if there were any.

Gohan, Pan, and Chain each enlisted after Goku, Vegeta, and Bra, and turned to their families. The three women bid them all good luck, waving and smiling as they departed.

So they and their participating family went their separate ways. Goku and the others headed straight for the anteroom, while Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Videl headed for the entrance to the stadium seats.

They pushed their way past the tightly packed crowd forcefully until they made it next to one of the employees. "Excuse me, sir," Bulma said to him as people passed her by. "We were told that we have seats reserved for us. We're family members to some of the contestants."

"Of course, ma'am," he smiled politely. "If you will please follow my coworker there," he motion to one of the attendants, "he will promptly escort you to your seats."

She nodded, and turned to follow the attendant, Chi-Chi and Videl close behind her. Now they would get to see exactly how the stadium looked, and how well it was built for the rough fights in store...

**Another chapter done! I hope you guys liked it, please let me know! Review!**


	7. Busted

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

**Thank you very much once again to everyone who has taken the time to be reading, and most of all reviewing! You reviewers are just awesome, so thank you so much! Here's to Katana Midori-Fading Shadow, Trugeta, animeprincess1452, and Western Master 3!**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: No, I don't believe that the preliminary fights for the main guys are going to be on the same day. It's going to be more random, I think. Thank you once again!**

**To Trugeta: Well thank you! And I'm glad you liked the development, too! Also, like I told you earlier, I believe, these glasses are too fun to get rid of, even though I'm not in any immediate danger! Maybe they'll save me from Chain, who's currently in a really foul mood with me...**

**To animeprincess1452: Thank you so much for the compliment! And, well, Chi-Chi, Bulma, and Videl all deserve some nice treatment, don't they? So they get good service.**

**To Western Master 3: Yes, very soon. Well, it's getting closer, anyway. Thanks a lot!**

**Here you go...**

Bra, Chain, Gohan, Goku, Pan, and Vegeta all made it to the anteroom where they were, to say the least, very impressed. The practice rings, comfortable chairs, and restaurant next door were definitely going to come in handy later on.

It wasn't very long before they found Demi, Goten, and Trunks over across the room. Goku waved to catch their attention. "Hey, guys!"

They all turned their attention to him as he and the rest of the group joined them. "Hi, Trunks. Long time no see."

"For sure. Hey, Bra. How's it going?"

"Not bad." Then, she smiled at her brother's good friend. "Hi, Goten."

Goten spun around to reply, but stopped, and stared at Bra for a long moment. He hadn't seen her in quite some time, and expected to see the same fashion-conscious young girl he knew from several years ago, but got the surprise of his life. Here stood a young woman brimming with confidence, not to mention beauty. **'Wow.'**

She scowled at him uncertainly. What was his problem?

"Hi, Bra..." Goten could feel his palms go sweaty and his stomach squirm uncomfortably. **'Kami, don't let my face go red. That's all I need,'** he thought.

Vegeta scowled in Goten's direction suspiciously, until a sudden remark made him turn.

"Chain, what the hell happened to your face?" Trunks asked her without really thinking.

"Guess," she told him shortly.

**'Oh yeah. I should have,'** he thought unexcitedly, looking up at his father.

"What?" Goten's attention turned swiftly from one of Vegeta's daughters to the other, and he saw the thick gauze pad on Chain's cheek. "Oh man, what did happen to your face?"

Chain growled at them, clenching her fists. "Stop saying stuff about my face! Like you've never gotten hit before!"

"Sorry," Goten replied quietly. **'Boy, that girl's got one heck of a temper.'**

All the while Vegeta remained silent.

"Why don't we go see what's taking so long?" Demi suggested, and the others nodded in agreement.

At the opposite end of the anteroom, Dea, King Kai, and Sena were all seated in three comfortable chairs. They were fairly silent, until King Kai spoke up. "Why don't we go ahead and brush up before the matches begin?"

"We, or just me and her?" Sena asked darkly.

"Er, never mind..." He glanced over to his right to see Trunks and the others approaching unknowingly. "Well, I should have known they'd be here."

"Who?" Sena then saw her sister, Demi, heading straight for them. "Oh...yeah..." **'Awkward...'** she thought to herself. **'Here we are, dead, competing in a tournament...and of all the people to show up, it's got to be her...'**

Dea knew fully well that her only living kin was heading straight for her without realizing it. She didn't speak, and she didn't move. She was indifferent as to what they would say to her, but she couldn't help thinking humorously to herself, **'Busted...'**

Inevitability. The two groups caught sight of one another, but what followed wasn't exactly a warm welcome for the 'dead' visitors.

"Wha...?" Goku couldn't even complete a single word as he stared at the three halo-bearing participators with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.

"What's wrong?" Gohan inquired, until his eyes, too, nearly popped out of his head in shock when he saw them.

Soon, everyone took notice of them, and in their own manner, allowed some sign of surprise to light up on their faces.

"Hello, Goku," King Kai greeted him anxiously.

The stunned Saiyan couldn't bring himself to reply. Odd that King Kai was here, and even more so that two of his former enemies were, also!

"What's going on?" Gohan rather demanded than asked.

"Oh, these two. Yes I had suspected that you'd be less than thrilled to see them again."

**'Got that right...'** Demi glared at Dea, who had chosen to ignore her with her usual veneer of apathy.

King Kai proceeded to explain everything to the (part-)Saiyans, including how they mysteriously ended up at Hurricane Archipelago and their abrupt decision to partake in the event.

"You mean to say they're...not as evil as we thought?" Goku wondered, still looking at the two sisters.

"That's for you to decide," Sena told him, shrugging.

Vegeta kept a wary eye on them before grunting in his revulsion of their presence. Of course, they hadn't chosen to be here, but that didn't change the fact that he was most seriously displeased.

"Yes, anyway. Uh, good to see you guys again...I guess..." King Kai was nervous at what might happen if they stayed around the two girls for much longer. "Goodbye."

It was quite some time before anyone actually moved, though. Finally, Vegeta turned, his arms crossed, and walked away, soon followed by a confused Chain. After he'd headed off, the others found it to be a bit easier to leave, Bra being next to go while Goten, Trunks, and Demi stayed close behind her.

At last, when Goku, Gohan, and Pan disappeared into the crowd, Sena glanced over at Dea and asked, "You okay?"

Without opening her closed eyes, she nodded.

"That was close," the short instructor sighed, wiping his brow in relief...

**Well, that was the other chapter. I hope it was okay. Review!**


	8. Stadium

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

**Thank you so much to everyone who has read the past chapters! And an even bigger thanks to you people who have been keeping me motivated with your great reviews! You're all just magnificent! So thank you to animeprincess1452, Western Master 3, Trugeta, Spring Rain of Harusame, and Katana Midori-Fading Shadow!**

**To animeprincess1452: Thank you so much for that great compliment! And yes, they're each going to fight, so it will be an interesting time!**

**To Western Master 3: Um, well, I'm not sure I know what it is you're confused about myself...Uh, if you let me know specifically, I'll be more than happy to explain it! Anyway, thank you for reviewing, I really do appreciate it!**

**To Trugeta: #chanting along# K-I-S-S-I-N-G! Oh, sorry...Anyway, thank you! You make me feel as if all of my hard work is rewarded, and it is, at that! And well, with just about everything that Chain's gone through, you can only imagine how mad she is at me...**

**To Spring Rain of Harusame: Thank you! And oh, yeah, the conflict is sure to ensue. Depend on that.**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: Thank you! And well, I wasn't planning on having them face each other in the preliminaries...because I wanted them all to make it to the finals. Sugar is a good thing! It gives you energy! Now it's only a question as to how much!**

**Now then...**

Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Videl were more than awed by the architecture of the stadium. It was different than the usual martial arts arenas they'd seen, which gave it a somewhat more original impression, for instead of the usual rectangular planning this arena was actually of an oval shape. It reminded Bulma of the ancient Roman Colosseum.

At both ends of the stadium were two outstanding silver computer screens, which, at the moment, were off. However, the knowledgeable scientist, who knew all about equipment, was sure that they would be put to good use in showing the fights.

As for the ring and the walls surrounding it, they were built of a peculiar but durable-looking metal. Maybe the sponsor of this tournament had unknowingly managed to make something that would stand more of a change against the Saiyans' strength, even if only a bit.

The seats that provided space for the onlookers were quite nice, too. They weren't as cramped as the usual seats at other amphitheaters.

But their seats! They were quite comfortable, providing plenty of room and a perfect overlooking view of the ring, as well as a good view of the computer screen ahead. Not to mention that there was a female attendant ready to bring them anything they asked for...

"I can't believe how great this is," Videl said.

"Yeah, you don't have treatment like this too often," Chi-Chi agreed. "This is remarkable."

"For once I'm glad I came to watch," Bulma told them, and lay back in her seat contentedly.

. . . . . .

Inside one of the rooms within the amphitheater, a small girl and her computer companion gazed excitedly out of the window at the large crowd that had gathered for the occasion.

"We've got a lot of people here, don't we, Morgan?"

"According to the data updated into my hard drive only twenty minutes ago, we have...approximately five thousand onlookers in the stadium. I would have to say that five thousand is a lot."

"I'm just anxious to see the finals," the girl grinned. "I can already tell that they're going to be spectacular."

"Undoubtedly. Both you and I went to great length to see these 'spectacular fights,' as you put it. And I'm prepared to get the battles on camera as soon as need be in order to keep clearer track of them."

"Good," she nodded, and stared down toward the doors at the side of the stadium. She smiled to herself while she waited both patiently and excitedly. **'I finally get to see what I've always dreamt of seeing...' **

. . . . . .

"What is taking so long?" Chain scowled, glaring at any bystanders who dared to stare at the large bandage on her cheek. She shot them dark glances, which clearly said, 'Go bug off!'

"Don't be impatient," Vegeta told her calmly. "It can't be too long."

"I just can't believe that...well..." Trunks hesitated as Demi looked up at him.

"What?" she narrowed her dark brown eyes. "Say it."

"...that your sisters are here," he finished uncertainly, and braced himself for a harsh reply.

"What are you talking about?" she snapped. "They're your sisters, too, you know."

"Yes, dear..."

"Well, they were allowed to keep their bodies, weren't they?" Pan spoke up to her two friends. "I mean, that's got to mean something, right?"

They all (well, perhaps not Vegeta) gave the two women fleeting looks. Goku especially seemed mystified about their behavior, for they were actually...calm and quiet. They both were simply minding their own business as if they didn't care whether or not the group noticed them.

"So, they're your sisters?" Chain inquired of Demi.

She simply nodded.

**'That would explain a lot, then,'** Chain thought.

At last, one of the attendants of the tournament appeared in the doorway to the arena outside, and called out to the gathering of fighters. "Contestants," he said simply.

Everyone stared over in his direction, giving him his or her full and undivided attention. "Thank you," he nodded. "We would like to thank you men and women for competing this year in the tournament. Our sponsor is most exceedingly grateful to all of you, and would like to cordially bid you all good luck at the start of the preliminary rounds. I expect you all know the rules: No weapons or defensive armor permitted, and no aiming for the eyes, or hitting below the belt, and so forth. Now, be good sportsmen, and most importantly, be strong." After having finished his speech, the man bowed respectfully to them and opened the double doors, allowing them to head out to the multitude awaiting them.

"Finally," Gohan gave a small smile, and was the first to head out the wide doorway.

They stepped out with confidence, postures tall and ready.

Resounding ovation absolutely overflowed from the coliseum, and confetti, strings, and all other items were thrown out across the seats to shower the participators. Goku couldn't remember hearing applause like this before! Thousands of people had gathered at the event, and they all sounded as if they wanted to spend their entire day shouting and cheering for the great fights that were about to follow.

Goku grinned to himself as he and the others halted right at the barrier poles separating the side of the platform from the actual ring. **'I'm so excited!'** he thought. **'This is going to be a great tournament. But with so many contestants, it's kind of hard to tell which of us will win.'** His smile widened. **'I like the suspense.'**

Where the three women were, Videl and Chi-Chi noticed Bulma suddenly smiling. "There they are," she pointed, and they saw their families lined up to the side of the platform. "Good luck, guys!" the Briefs woman called, cupping her mouth with one hand and waving with the other.

"Do well, Pan! You too, Gohan!" Videl shouted, half-standing from her seat to wave to them, as well.

"We're cheering for you!" Chi-Chi joined, clenching her fists.

Sena and Dea, remaining silent, as always, glared at several of their fellow participators, mainly humans, while King Kai stood near the building to watch the beginning rounds.

"Not bad," Chain proclaimed, hands on her waist as she surveyed the arena.

Vegeta acknowledged her statement with a nod, and gazed at the humans. They all looked the same. This would be easy, if not an absolute waste of the Royal Saiyan's time...

**Got it done! Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know, and please review!**


	9. Who Fights Whom

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

**Thank you so very much to everyone who's been reading the chapters, and even more to those of you who inspire me so much with your reviews! Words cannot say just how awesome you guys are, so here's my thanks to animeprincess1452, Katana Midori-Fading Shadow, Spring Rain of Harusame, and Western Master 3!**

**To animeprincess1452: Thank you for the compliment, it makes me feel so good about my hard work! I'm glad you like the way the stadium is built, as well. So I hope you like this chapter, too! Thanks again!**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: Glad you did enjoy it! Anyway, here's the matches for you! Hope you don't mind about the matches in the preliminaries!**

**To Spring Rain of Harusame: Yup, five thousand is a lot! But about the girl and the computer, just, er, letting you know. Morgan is the computer. You don't know the girl's name yet. However, it is very observant of you to mention them so! I would have to say that those two are hiding something...**

**To Western Master 3: You do have a very good point, there! I hope you will be pleased with what actually comes about, though! Thank you!**

_NOTE: Though some of the names may have not been changed from the original story, the manner in how the matches proceed shall be. Just a heads up, there!_

**Here you go...**

The crowd continued to cheer for the gathering of fighters, all of whom were very much pleased with the warm welcome they received. The humans, as usual, were overconfident, and completely oblivious as to whom they were really up against. But the (part-)Saiyans would soon show them who truly had the advantage.

Soon enough, a man, whom Goku and the others could only assume was the announcer for the tournament, stepped up onto the platform, microphone gripped securely in his hand, and called out to the onlookers. "_Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Hurricane Archipelago's Martial Arts Tournament, where some of the greatest fighters in the world have gathered!_"

The multitude literally screamed in joy and excitement, clearly very enthusiastic to be present at this marvelous event. The zeal within the atmosphere uncontrollably spread to Goku, who allowed a small smile to come to his lips.

"_We are now about to determine who is to face off against whom for the preliminary rounds!_" Another eager cry from the horde all seated in the amphitheater. "_The rules are simple. The contestants will each step forward as their names are called, and choose a card with a symbol on it. The symbols represent numbers, and those with matching numbers are chosen as one another's opponent. The information will automatically be stored into the hard drive of our computer system!_" he finally shouted, and pointed up to the two computer screens, which were immediately switched on to show a vast blue color.

"This tournament isn't that bad, huh?" Sena remarked, and Dea shrugged in response.

Seconds later, one of the employees working under the sponsor of the tournament stepped onto the platform, carrying a box steadily in his hands, and turned to face the participators.

"_And now, ladies and gentlemen, our contestants are about to draw their symbols! Competitors, please come forward as I call out your names..._"

The announcer began by calling several humans, each of them stepping forth and drawing the blue-and-silver cards that printed their data up on the computer screens for all to see. It was only until after quite a while that, at last, he got to one of the Saiyans. "_Dea!_"

Without speaking, the young woman headed over to draw a symbol from the box. Examining it, she found that it was quite similar to a credit card, only with a single large symbol printed on it.

Just ahead, her data was printed up on the computer screen, where it showed her to be matched with some human woman known as Terri. And from the way she looked, Terri was going to be more than easy to defeat.

Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Videl all examined Dea's profile that was displayed on the computer screen, until suddenly Videl spoke up. "Wait a moment. Dea...isn't that...?"

"What?" Bulma wondered. Obviously, she'd forgotten just how ruthless Dea had been the last time they met.

"Oh my gosh!" Chi-Chi exclaimed. "What is she doing here now?"

As Dea began to head back, Videl observed both her and her family's countenance, and noticed that Gohan and his friends all seemed to be quite calm about her being there. **'I don't get it...'**

"_Sena!_"

The other sister came several contestants later, and in much the same way.

"What?" This time, it was Bulma's turn to be shocked. After having remembered exactly who Dea was, she was less confused and far more aggravated. "They're both here?"

"What exactly is going on?" Chi-Chi folded her arms impatiently, scowling arms at the cranberry-haired half-Saiyan.

**'Her too?'** Videl wondered to herself. **'What's up with everyone? I thought they'd at least be a little more wary about their presence. I wonder what I've missed...'**

At last, the rest of the Saiyans were called forward to draw their cards, and were each matched with an opponent. The face-offs were all in order and as follows:

_1 - Pan _versus_ Lane_

_2 - Bra _versus_ Mail_

_3 - Demi _versus_ Uma_

_4 - Gohan _versus_ Link_

_5 - Trunks _versus_ Pilate_

_6 - Chain _versus_ Kale_

_7 - Goten _versus_ Rin_

_8 - Dea _versus_ Terri_

_9 - Sena _versus_ Caine_

_10 - Goku _versus_ Fran_

_11 - Vegeta _versus_ Ore_

"_Ladies and gentlemen, our matches have now been decided! The preliminary rounds shall now begin!_"

Goku gazed up to the computer screen in curiosity, wondering whether or not the first of them – Pan, of course – was going to be able to take her first victory today (no doubt that she would, for a human didn't stand a chance against her even if Pan didn't try.) And so it seemed.

So, after several matches between a few humans, Pan's turn would come. At least she'd get a bit of target practice, anyway. Human opponents were never a challenge to the Son family, that much was certain...

**Hope you all liked the chapter. Review!**


	10. Day One and Dinner

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

**I want to sincerely thank Trugeta, Katana Midori-Fading Shadow, and animeprincess1452 all for reviewing! You're all really awesome, and words cannot express how grateful I am to each of you!**

**To Trugeta, chapter 8: 'Tis okay, dear author! Worry not about it! And thank you for the compliments! For I did work hard on the introduction of the two sisters, as well as the stadium descriptions. So I thank you for recognizing my hard work!  
**

**To Trugeta, chapter 9: I'm so glad that you're looking forward to the action! I hope you'll enjoy it, as well! Thanks again!  
**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: Yeah, I thought someone was going to recognize the old names. I was right! Also, yes, I was pre-typing a few of these chapters before I posted them, but this happens to be my last pre-written chapter...woe is me...**

**To animeprincess1452: Thank you! I hope, since you mentioned them, that you'll enjoy reading about the first rounds. I always value your good opinion! Thanks once again!**

_NOTE: Though some of the names for the humans in the preliminary rounds may not have been changed, the ways the fights proceed have been. Just a reminder!_

**Here you are, then...**

_Day One – Pan, Bra, and Demi_

**Pan**

It was quite a while of waiting before Pan's turn finally came, but come it did, and the Saiyan girl was, needless to say, fully prepared. She had just been waiting to be called forward, checking the computer screen every so often in her anticipation.

"_Pan!_" At last, the announcer called out her name, and she gave him her full attention. "_And Lane! Will our two ladies please come forward?_" he spoke into the mic, and the two women nodded before heading out to the ring.

"Well, her opponent doesn't look like too much of a challenge," Goku remarked, and Vegeta gave him a sharp glance.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Kakarot..." But the third-class dimwit did have a point. Lane, short and seemingly over-timid, couldn't even compete with Pan in confidence. Skill – or luck, whichever you'd like to accredit – had obviously favored Pan for this round.

Pan stared down at Lane. The poor younger woman was extremely nervous, and her attempts to hide this were futile. Sympathizing with her somewhat, Pan decided that she would go easy on her, while simultaneously making this a short fight. There was no need to draw it out.

"_Contestants ready,_" the announcer began, and stepped back several feet to keep clear of the two ladies. Lane hesitantly fell into a fighting stance, though of course it was going to do her little good. "_Fight!_"

Lane simply stared up at Pan while the latter waited for her to make a first move. But after a moment of observing her countenance, Pan started to realize that she didn't have the bravery to do so. Why on earth did people like Lane even bother to participate in the first place?

With her patience dwindling, Pan decided to go ahead and make the first move, which turned out to also be the last. She lightly hit Lane, which was more than enough to send her crashing outside of the ring.

"_Ring out, and in only a single hit! Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Pan!_"

The multitude was highly impressed! Frantic cries and shouts of fervor filled the air, and Pan grinned at the zeal in their conduct. Sure, it hadn't been very much of an effort, but the cheers for her made her feel rather proud all the same.

Before she began to head back to the sidelines and join the other fighters, she saw Chi-Chi and Videl wave proudly to her, and she returned the fond gesture.

**Bra**

"_Bra and Mail! Please, come forward!_"

Now it was the Saiyan Princess's turn to take the victory. And, as with Pan, it would be easy. Mail didn't seem to be anyone special. Just your typical human participator in the tournament, hoping to get noticed by women or to show off for his own appeasement.

Encouraging applause resonated for the both of them, as well as some extremely irritating calls at Bra from impolite men.

Goten couldn't help but notice this, and glared at the men that stood not three meters from him, too...er, annoyed to think that perhaps someone might notice his expression. Goku and Gohan, to be precise.

Goku and Gohan grinned knowingly at Goten, somewhat amused.

Bra and Mail stepped into the center of the arena, and faced one another with the utmost of rivalry, facing one another in their own competition of a bit of a glaring contest.

"_Ready!_" Once again, the announcer stepped back to give them space, and struck his hand down through the air for the signal. "_Fight!_"

Mail was the first to lash out, aiming a hard fist for Bra's face. The Saiyan Princess effortlessly held his hit back with her hand, allowing his fist to collide with her palm before kicking out at him and, in doing so, ending the match.

"_It's another ring out, ladies and gentlemen! Bra takes the victory!_"

Once again the amphitheater vibrated with cheers, and Bra headed back to the sidelines, quite satisfied with the job she'd done.

**Demi**

"_Demi and Uma! Please step into the ring!_"

Last but certainly not least, Demi and her opponent, Uma, headed into the center of the ring, where the latter fell into a fighting stance in order to prepare for the face-off.

Trunks allowed a small and proud smile to come to his lips as he watched. As usual, Demi hadn't gone into a fighting stance to counter her opponent, but that was her nature (besides there being no need when a half-Saiyan was opposing a human.) She stood patiently with her arms held at her sides.

Sena and Dea weren't bothering to watch the present match. The hostile impression that was constantly hovering between them and Demi created a general sense of nonstop conflict, as well as a veneer of nonchalance.

King Kai observed his students, and noticed the manner in which they stood, somehow staring away from the ring. He had a very good guess as to the reason of their sour expressions.

"_Ready! Fight!_"

Demi was intent on making this match a short one, as it was unnecessary to prolong it. And to her, the sooner this match was over and done with, the better. The minute that Uma tried to strike her in the chest, Demi grabbed her by the wrist, and gripped her with a painfully tight clench. Then, she threw her out to the side of the oval ring, sending her crashing outside the barriers.

"_Ring out! Ladies and gentlemen, Demi is declared the winner!_"

Once more, the crowd went wild in response to the victory they had just witnessed. They had seen that several of these fighters were incredibly strong, and it was worth cheering for.

. . . . . .

Evening came, which brought about the end of the first day's matches. As the other fighters filed back into the anteroom, Goku and his family and friends met up near the entrance. "So, guys, what do you say we go find the ladies and then get something to eat?"

They each glanced at one another for unanimous approval, and then nodded.

"Alright, then," Goku replied. "Let's go and see if we can meet them at the entrance."

They headed through the anteroom and then outside near the large, double doors of the amphitheater, where, sure enough, Bulma, Chi-Chi and Videl all stepped out. They caught sight of their families, and waved happily to them.

The three women approached their friends and family, all smiling. "That was an excellent job you guys did today," they praised. "We were sure you were going to win." Bulma gave her daughters (in-law) a proud nod.

"Thanks," they replied, Demi more expressionless than her sister-in-law.

"Well, now, why don't we go and grab a bite to eat?" Chi-Chi suggested, already recognizing the slightly eager look in her husband's eyes.

Goku grinned immediately and, taking his wife by the hand, proceeded back into the anteroom and to the restaurant to fill his ravenous Saiyan stomach.

"Videl?" Gohan held his arm out fondly for his wife to take, and she smiled at him as she linked her arm with his.

Bulma forced Vegeta to lead her in, in the same manner, wrapping her arm around his before he had a chance to protest. Smiling sweetly at him, she gave him no choice.

"Well?" Trunks grinned at Demi before grabbing her hand in a loving embrace, and the two followed shortly after the others.

Bra, Chain, Goten, and Pan were the only ones left, before Pan and Chain shrugged at one another and walked in.

**'Okay,'** Goten thought when he finally found an opportunity. **'Just say something to her...'** "Um..." **'Boy I hope I'm not blushing right now, please...'** "Do you want to go in, then?" And nervously, he held his arm out for Bra in a gentlemanly manner, apprehensive toward her reaction.

Bra glanced at his out held arm in uncertainty. Was he just trying to be nice, or...? Perhaps...?

Much to Goten's relief (and joy), Bra smiled at him and wrapped her arm around his. "Sure, let's go," she nodded.

Now more confident, Goten accompanied the lovely young lady inside, where they soon found the table where everyone else was seated.

The restaurant itself was, surprisingly, quite elegant, with dark, polished tables covered in maroon tablecloths with fancy candles and flowers placed in the middle. Bra took note of how nice the napkins and silverware was, not to mention some of the crystal wine glasses. Goten liked the way the lights were kind of low and hazy, it was a nice setting for -

"What the hell?" Goten, still quite nervous, promptly released Bra's arm. Luckily for him, she happened to understand...

"Vegeta," Bulma scolded, "watch your language."

"Yeah, Vegeta, watch your language," Chain smirked, and quietly sniggered alongside Pan.

"What's the matter with this menu? What is this, 'Eye of Octopus?'"

"Where?" Goku looked excitedly for the aforementioned dish.

"I want food, not monsters," he hissed, and Bulma rolled her eyes. Relieving, as well, that his upset hadn't actually been about Bra and Goten.

"What do you think looks good, then, Chain?" Pan asked.

"Maybe a sedative," she remarked, glaring at her father from over the very top of her menu.

When Goten and Bra sat down at the table with everyone else, they casually took up their menus, and tried to ignore the subtle, sly glances that Gohan and Videl shot them.

Not too far at the other side of the room, King Kai and his two students were already being served their drinks. The waiter handed Sena her water, Dea her beer, and King Kai his martini.

The instructor from Other World grinned at the tall glass of martini, rubbing his hands together, and then grabbed it to proceed drinking.

"So, what do you think? It looks like Demi's found some new friends, huh?" Sena said, leaning her arms on the table.

Dea shrugged before taking a sip from her mug of beer.

"They're actually a nice bunch once you get to know them," King Kai told them once he paused from his drink.

Sena just barely glanced at him to show him that she'd heard him before sipping her water...

**Well, it took me a little while to write this, but at least I can say that I got it done. I hope you all liked it. Review!**


	11. Hotel

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

**Once again, my very sincere and great thanks to everyone who has been reading, and especially to everyone who has reviewed! I truly appreciate your encouraging reviews, for they always keep me going! Here's to Trugeta, Katana Midori-Fading Shadow, animeprincess1452, and Western Master 3!**

**To Trugeta: Glad, I am, that you liked it! Makes me happy, it does! Um...Ahem. And yes, they were fast, but I hope that wasn't a bad thing! You're absolutely right, too. The real action is coming soon! Also, I'm glad that you liked the Goten-Bra scene! Thanks again!**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: Thank you! Well, don't worry, the action will come before you know it. Anyway, I don't think that 'Eye of Octopus' is a real dish, although I may be wrong. After all, it is a very wide world out there!**

**To animeprincess1452: Thank you so much for those compliments, once again! I'm glad you really liked the chapter, it makes my day! And yes, you're quite right, ring outs are very easy. I love 'em, too! Thanks once again!**

**To Western Master 3: Glad to hear that you're enjoying this! And thanks for that great compliment, it really makes me happy! Thank you so much!**

**Okay, then...**

After a filling dinner, Goku suggested to the others that they get a much-deserved night of sleep. Chi-Chi couldn't agree more, and nodded in approval. "Yeah, we're all pretty tired. It's about time we headed out to the hotel."

When they actually made it to the other side of the island, where the hotel was located, they were, once again, very impressed by the structure of their new and temporary sleeping quarters.

The exterior of the building was very fancy, with a bright, smooth stone for the masonry and large, Roman-like pillars at the entrance of the lobby. A red rug welcomed them like royalty, and they stepped inside to find that the lobby itself was very elegant.

Black marble tables and luxurious, dark red lounging chairs along with several tall, dark green, healthy-looking plants made up the waiting area, and two waterfall-fountains sat underneath the stairs leading up to the rooms on the next floor.

A female attendant waiting politely for them at the entrance greeted them respectfully with a bow. "Competitors?"

"Yeah," Goku answered.

"We have room reservations specifically for all of you. If you could please just follow me."

She took them over to a desk, where another employee awaited them patiently. Goku took this opportunity to grab a few of the chocolates in a bowl at the counter.

"May I please have your names?" the employee asked.

"Sons."

"And Briefs."

She began to flip through several files behind the desk where she stood until she found each of the names. "Sons Goku, Gohan...Goten...Pan...?"

They all nodded in response to their names.

"Rooms 3221, 3222, 3223, and 3224. And Briefs...Vegeta...Trunks, Demi...and Bra and Chain...Rooms 3228, 3229, and 3300."

After being given the card keys to their rooms (and Goku snatching another couple of handfuls from the bowl of chocolates), the gang made their way up to the next floor, where they headed down the long, wide corridor until they reached the rooms.

It was only when Chi-Chi suggested that they decide which rooms they wished to stay in that Bulma realized there weren't enough for all of them. "Hm. Some of you are going to have to share," she said, casually pointing to...well, the single people.

Goten, Bra, Pan, and Chain all stood patiently as the others briefly discussed the subject.

"Okay," Bulma nodded, and turned back to them. "Bra, you don't mind sharing a room with Chain, right?"

She shook her head.

"Alright, then. So then Goten and Pan have their own rooms. Excellent. Well, I'm rather tired, so..." She stretched and yawned.

"Yeah," Chi-Chi agreed. "We're pretty beat, too. Good night, all."

"Good night," the others replied, and all scurried away to their hotel rooms.

They soon found that the rooms were also quite nice. Everything about this tournament seemed to be nice! Their beds were large and comfortable with warm, silk blankets, and there were even nightclothes set out thoughtfully for them.

As for the bathrooms, there was a large, spacious shower stall, and near it was a bath, which doubled as a whirlpool. Trunks began to glance from the whirlpool and then to Demi, smiling with ambition gleaming in his eyes.

"What are you smiling about?" she frowned at him, and suddenly recognized that same look...

She started silently toward the door, but Trunks made it there before she did, closing and locking it. And, before she could protest any further, he'd already reach out to begin pulling her shirt off for her.

. . . . . .

Bra and Chain had, of course, been given the room with the two twin beds. After brushing and going through the feminine ritual of washing and moisturizing their faces (yes, even for a young Chain), they pulled on their nightclothes and got into their beds.

"Good night, Chain," Bra said before turning her lamplight out.

"Good night, Bra." And the young girl turned over in her sleep, careful not to lean her still sore face into the pillows too much.

Little had any of them realized, though, that the people staying right next door were...

"Where are you going?" Sena asked her sibling.

"I'm going to see if I can't get some milk," Dea replied, and crawled out from underneath her covers, headed across the room, and out the door.

**'Well, I hope she hurries back,'** Sena thought. **'If she runs into one of those guys, I've a feeling that she'll get into quite a bit of trouble...'**

**There you have it, then! Hope it was enjoyable. Review!**


	12. How Embarrassing!

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

**I would like to give my great thanks to all of you who have been reading, and my even greater thanks to you guys who review! You just don't know how you guys keep me inspired, so thank you so very much! My hat's off to Trugeta, Katana Midori-Fading Shadow, and animeprincess1452!**

**To Trugeta: Well, here's what happens. I hope you enjoy it, because I've gone for another humorous impression! Also, Chain is still mad at me, but I managed to convince her to wait so I could make it up to her. And the glasses helped, partly, as well, they did. Thank you!**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: Understandable! But it's not _that_ bad (since they are married) right? And anyway, here's what happens with the whole Dea ordeal. Hope you like it!**

**To animeprincess1452: I just can't tell you how much I appreciate all of those compliments, dear authoress! And oh, we all wish for a room like that! I do, anyway. Thank you!**

**Chapter, then...**

Bra was sleeping soundly, resting comfortably in her bed with the covers pulled up right under her chin. She sighed in contentedness in her slumber, until suddenly a sound from next door caused her to stir.

She opened her sore eyes in the darkness of the room as a loud thud hit the wall from the room next to hers.

Chain, always a heavy sleeper, continued to purr, still sleeping, while Bra wondered what the heck was going on in the other room.

"Dea, don't mess up the equipment," Sena scolded from the twin bed across the room, until her younger sister threw the remote over at the wall.

**'Stupid annoying gadgets,'** she thought, and yanked the covers up over her torso to try and keep warm for the night. She reached over to her nightstand to turn the lamplight out, but instead her hand ran across...the alarm clock...

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Sena groaned irritably as she lay back against the pillows in her bed, and watched foully while Dea tried to shut the blaring alarm off.

After several moments of hitting a lot of stupid buttons, Dea finally yanked the alarm clock off the nightstand, cord and all, and threw it across the room where it crashed against the wall.

Bra sat up in abrupt shock from the loud bang right behind her, and even Chain woke up in wonderment. She rubbed her head as she squinted through the darkness to her older sister.

"What are you doing?" Sena snapped. "You're going to wake someone up, now stop it. Go to sleep."

Dea reached over for the lamp to turn it off, but, in her extreme and uncontrollable anger, she accidentally knocked it over instead.

Bra and Chain had just about had enough, and Bra was actually kind of glad when her younger sibling banged her elbow on the wall. "Hey! Shut up!"

However, the commotion started a chain-reaction, and with his sharp Saiyan hearing, Goten awoke in his own room. "What...?"

"See?" Sena hissed.

The younger sibling finally got the lamp back up on the nightstand, clicked it off, and faced the opposite side of the wall in aggravated tiredness.

. . . . . .

The following morning, Goten sat up in bed, rubbing his stale, heavy eyes as the sun shone in through his light blue curtains. He glanced at his alarm clock beside him and saw that it was only six-thirty in the morning. He decided to get himself ready for the day, and immediately headed into the bathroom for a shower.

**'What a night,'** he thought, running a hand quickly through his hair.

Within their room, Chi-Chi nudged Goku to wake him up, and he stirred in his sleep, muttering something about too large a serving of animal crackers. "Come on, Goku. Wake up. We have to get breakfast and then head back to the tournament."

Goku sat up, wide awake, and exclaimed, "Breakfast!"

The shout was enough to wake up the other sharp-hearing Saiyans, and Gohan, Trunks, and Vegeta all growled angrily from being woken up so early.

Goten was the first to head out of his room and go down to breakfast, and closed his hotel door behind him just as Dea appeared. She looked at him for a moment, that same expression of indifference on her face.

"Oh," Goten paused and nodded to her. "Uh, good morning."

She stared at him for a moment before brushing her way past him and going down the stairs to join her older sister and King Kai in the dining area.

**'Well, don't bother to answer,'** Goten thought, and suddenly saw Bra step out from her room. Freshened up for the day, she looked positively radiant, and Goten couldn't help but smile. "Good morning, Bra."

"Good morning," she replied. "Sleep okay?"

"Yeah," he lied, wanting to seem positive.

"Well, hungry? Chain went down to warm up and get breakfast about an hour ago."

"Oh, sure," he nodded. "Do you...that is...do you want to get breakfast together?" he wondered quietly, and she nodded, smiling.

At the breakfast tables, Chain had finally piled several plates high with pancakes, waffles, French toast, bacon, sausages, buttered toast, fruits, cereal, and potatoes, along with four or five glasses of milk and orange juice.

A few of the human contestants stared over in her direction while she stuffed a bite of watermelon into her mouth, but she ignored them, too focused on eating to bother with them.

Dea and Sena, too, had piled their plates pretty high with their own preferences of food, and started to eat while King Kai watched them, blinking a few times from behind the little sunglasses.

When Goten and Bra came down, they helped themselves to some food and then joined Chain at the table. They didn't bother to say good morning to her. Heaven knows it would make about as much sense as saying good morning to the table itself, besides the fact that the two adults themselves could think about nothing but breakfast right now.

Soon enough, the others joined them, and started on their silent morning meal.

When they all finished, Vegeta spoke up to his daughter. "Chain, I thought you were going to train today."

"I did before I ate," she replied.

"But I thought your turn wasn't today," Pan said as she stood from her seat.

"Yeah, but I still do a little bit of training...Anyway, I managed to be one of the first people awake this morning to go training, so I didn't run into too many people."

"Speaking of running into people," Goten said, "I tried to say something to your sister this morning, Demi."

She frowned.

"Yeah, I think it was Dea...and she was pretty...quiet."

"What else is new?" she replied sarcastically. "But it was nice of you, anyway. Dea may be very quiet, but she's actually very emotional and sensitive."

"Really?" Goku interestedly asked, listening in.

Demi nodded in confirmation.

They all headed back to the stadium and arrived shortly. Once again, Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Videl all bid their families good luck, and then headed for their reserved seats.

Back on the side of the platform, where all of the still qualified fighters stood waiting, Goten happened to be standing near Dea and Sena.

Neither of them looked at him, especially Dea, who, quite coincidentally, was leaning on the barrier poles in the same way he was. Goten, thinking he should probably be polite, waved to Dea. "Hi."

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye before looking back out to the arena where the announcer stepped up.

"I'm Goten. You...might remember me, I guess." **  
**

She said nothing while Sena looked over at Goten. He waved nervously up at her, and she waved back. When he turned back to Dea, he found that she still hadn't acknowledged him. "So, quite a coincidence that we're all here, huh?"

Still no reply.

"I know why you don't say something. It's because you're mad. You're mad because..." He paused, realizing what he'd just said as Trunks and Demi stared over at him with looks that said 'Are you mad?' He tried to think up the most humorous line he could in his anxiety. "...Because you don't have a boyfriend." Okay, it turned out to be more of a stupid reason than a humorous one...

Maybe not. It caused Sena to turn in the other direction while she snickered at the thought.** 'That is so good! Dea interested in guys! Sure!'**

Gohan and Pan suddenly stepped in to make Goten feel less embarrassed. "Because you don't, do you?" Gohan asked.

Dea started to frown.

"You ought to go to more social gatherings," Pan said, raising an index finger to emphasize her declaration. "Maybe then you could meet someone and fall in...love." **'I just realized how dumb that sounds,'** she thought, and blushed in embarrassment.

Now Demi started to snicker.

"I...don't...love."

Everyone paused in shock, looking at Dea with widened eyes. Even Vegeta had noticed that the young woman spoke, and stared at her in disbelief.

Goku stammered, "W...what?"

"I said I don't love."

. . . . . .

At a particular lookout high over Earth, a certain all-knowing Kami paused to listen again. What had that been? This rather curious and attention-catching statement? 'I don't love.'

He gazed down to where he'd heard the voice, and found that the owner of this deep, tinted-like-dark-glass, feminine voice belonged to none other than Dea, whom he'd (just slightly) kept an eye on since she'd arrived on Earth.

**'"I don't love,"'** he recalled, and suddenly smirked.

Mr. Popo looked back at Dende worriedly, recognizing that mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Dende pushed his sleeves up, still smiling with a cunning look, and focused completely on Dea. **'So you don't love, huh? We'll just see about that.'** Dea was a nice girl, as far as he knew, and hadn't caused any trouble since her return to Earth. But one had to admit that she could be too proud for her own good.

Dende decided that perhaps it was time that she swallow her pride and eat her words. This was going to be fun...

**Well, I hope it was good, and that you all liked it. Hard work! How do you make lines that are supposed to deliberately be dumb and embarrassing seem like "Now why the heck did I just say that?" instead of planned out? Review, please!**


	13. Choosing 'Dea's Man'

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

**I would like to thank all of you readers, but most of all I would like to thank you people who have reviewed! You all keep me motivated to write, so thank you so very much! I really do appreciate it! I raise my glass to Trugeta, animeprincess1452, Western Master 3, Spring Rain of Harusame, Katana Midori-Fading Shadow, and TIGERGRRrr!**

**To Trugeta: I don't think he'd escape a beheading, either, if Dea were to find out. I'm so glad you liked the Goten-Bra scene again! They're a great couple! Also, I'm glad that you did enjoy the 'Trying to sleep' part, because I was struggling with that one for quite some time. Anyway, Chain is still waiting for me to make it up to her, but she's getting a little impatient. Thank you!**

**To animeprincess1452: Thank you so much for the compliments! It really makes my day, because I worked hard on all of it! Anyway, sorry for not updating sooner, I was really busy over the weekend. But I hope the wait wasn't too long. Thanks again!**

**To Western Master 3: You can see into the future? Could you please tell me whether or not Chain is going to murder me? (Inside joke with Trugeta.) She's getting impatient with me. Thank you!**

**To Spring Rain of Harusame: Thank you! Glad you like it! Dea is too proud for her own good, isn't she? I agree, it is odd. Well, she's going to eat her words soon enough! Thanks again!**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: Well, you know what they say. Mother knows best! I still uphold a lot of the things that my mom taught me. Anyway, you can see what Dende is planning! Thanks!**

**To TIGERGRRrr: Thanks for that great compliment! I'm really glad to know that you like it so much! I work hard on this story. Hope you like this next chapter, then!**

**Okay, then...**

"I don't love," Dea growled once again, looking ready to kill if they didn't stop pestering her about the subject. "Which part of that do you not happen to understand, pray tell?"

The present fighters all stared at her with shocked expressions, barely able to speak, until Goku finally pointed happily at her. "Hey! You talked!" he exclaimed, a wide smile lit up on his face.

The half-Saiyan woman put a hand over her face and groaned in agitation, shaking her head back and forth slowly. When she finally looked back up, she found that several of the Sons were somewhat puzzled at her proclamation.

"I don't understand how you can say something like that," Pan told her, putting her hands on her hips. "You mean you've never loved anyone before?"

"Precisely. And if you don't stop bothering me about it, I'm going to get very angry," she sneered without bothering to look up at her.

Pan glanced back out to the arena, deciding it was best not to pursue the subject any further. With a tone like that, she was certain that Dea wasn't just tossing out idle threats.

. . . . . .

Dende pushed the sleeves of his robes up once more, and smirked down to where Dea stood leaning on the barrier poles at the amphitheater. The foolish young woman was completely oblivious. Dende simply couldn't help but let his smirk widen at the thought of what fun he would have...

Mr. Popo stared back nervously to the Kami of Earth, wondering what in the world he was up to this time.

The Kami faced the palms of his hands out toward the young woman, who was standing in such a perfect position that she might as well have been wearing a target sign. He thought for a moment before actually setting to work. **'Hm. Who's a good person for her? I suppose he'd have to be strong enough for our little missy, wouldn't he? And since she's dead, we might as well make it so with our lucky man.'**

And then, predicting exactly who was going to step into the tournament later on, he nodded in a hasty decision. Yes, he would be perfect, and even the mischievous Namek had to admit that the idea was a good one.

**'Dea, Dea. Even you should know better than to make statements that aren't true.'** And he rapidly cast the spell over her, congratulating himself for his brilliant plan. Oh, she was going to fall for the man he'd chosen the moment she set eyes on him.

. . . . . .

The half-Saiyan woman suddenly shut her eyes when an abrupt, stinging sensation arrived from the inside. She shielded them with her hands and blinked over and over, tears spilling out as they tried to wash the irritating feeling away.

Sena could see a red, bloodshot color in her eyes where white should have been. "You okay?"

She nodded while continuing to blink until finally she'd had a good enough tear shower. She wiped away the tiny streaks under her eyes and wondered what had caused that unexpected stinging...

**Well? Alright? I am predicting that one of you, at least, is going to remind me of how short it was...Oh well. Review!**


	14. Day Two

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

**I would like to give my thanks to all of you readers! And, I would like to give my even bigger thanks to all of you reviewers, for I doubt I could continue writing without your support! You're all awesome! I would like to thank Trugeta, Spring Rain of Harusame, animeprincess1452, and Katana Midori-Fading Shadow!**

**To Trugeta: I provoked it? Ah, rats... But, thank you for the compliment! Dende playing fate...that's such a good way to put it! Though you are right, he'd better hope that he doesn't get found out. Or heads would roll. And as for the guess about the Lucky Man, that was good! But I'm telling whether you're right or not...(Sneaky me!)**

**To Spring Rain of Harusame: Rats...another one... Oh, anyway! Well, sorry, but I can't tell you who the Lucky Man is... I'm saving it for later. Thank you, though, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**To animeprincess1452: I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! Thank you! I hope you like this chapter, as well. It should be (slightly) longer, if I'm correct...Thanks again!**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: Yay! Somebody didn't mind about the shortness of the chapter! Thank you! Yup, Mother almost always knows best! I miss...my Mommy!**

**Now! Chapter...**

_Day Two – Gohan and Trunks_

**Gohan**

After several matches that took place between a few humans, Gohan's name was at last called out by the announcer. "_Gohan!_" He promptly gave the announcer his attention. "_And Link! Please step forward!_"

The half-Saiyan headed out to the center of the arena, glancing at his opponent, Link. The slightly taller human was more well-built than he was, but, as Gohan knew, appearances were deceiving. And that Link would find out...

Gohan gazed up to the stadium seats where he saw Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Videl waving excitedly to him. He allowed a small grin to spread across his face as he nodded to them.

The competitors headed to the center of the ring, where they faced each other readily. Link fell into a fighting stance while Gohan simply clenched his fists, holding his arms in a skillfully relaxed but simultaneously tensed manner at his sides. His expression was now fully focused and serious as he looked into the human's eyes.

Pan observed them, and knew that her father's look was one of a man who was wisely confident and aware.

The announcer nodded to the two glaring rivals, and stepped back a few yards, once again cautious not to get caught in the way. "_Competitors ready!_" he announced, and struck an arm down through the air for the signal. "_Fight!_"

And, without hesitating so as to finish the easy match, Gohan lightly brought his fist into his opponent's forehead, which, as Link soon found out, was more than enough to send him clear out of the oval arena.

Gohan waited patiently, arms held at his sides again, while the announcer ran over to inspect what was left of poor Link. "_Incredible! It's a ring out and a K.O. in one, ladies and gentlemen! Such strength! Let's hear it for Gohan!_"

And the cheers rang out for the demi-Saiyan who truly deserved the enthusiastic and optimistic reaction of the crowd. He gave them all a small and appreciative wave before heading back to the side of the platform, where a smiling father and daughter complimented him proudly.

**Trunks**

"_Our next fighters are Trunks and Pilate! Please step up!_" the announcer said into the mic, and Trunks nodded as he stepped out to the center of the ring.

Trunks' opponent was certainly in no way going to be difficult to defeat. That overconfident composure of his was going to get him into trouble sooner than he realized.

Demi subtly smiled as she watched her husband step out to the fighting grounds, holding her elbows in a manner comparable to crossing her arms. She loved to watch her husband fight more than almost anything else...

Bulma studied her son's expression, and she noticed that Trunks' glare was remarkably like Vegeta's. She ought to know, too. She waited patiently for the start of the match.

"_Ready!_" The announcer stepped back. "_Fight!_" Again, he chopped his hand down through the air, and the son of the Saiyan Prince waited for his rival's first move, arms folded over his chest.

Pilate came charging at Trunks, fist held out in a striking blow. The moment he attempted to hit him in the face, the strong half-Saiyan held his palm up in defense, catching his opponent's hand in a painful, crushing grip.

Before Pilate could possibly register anything else, Trunks lifted his other hand and struck the human across the face, sending him flying straight out to the grass surrounding the platform.

For a second time, the announcer had to jog his way over to observe Pilate's pathetic form, and grinned once he'd found out just what he needed to know. "_Unbelievable, folks! It's another ring out and K.O. in one! I tell you these competitors are amazing!_"

Another booming cry from the onlookers seated in the stadium, and Trunks headed back to the side of platform to wait out the remainder of the day's matches.

The audience was more impressed now than ever! These fighters were absolutely amazing, and several hundred of the onlookers began to murmur excitedly to one another, wondering and hoping that perhaps those truly powerful contestants would face off against one another in the finals.

**Hopefully it was good, and you all enjoyed it. Please review to let me know!**


	15. Day Three and Day Four

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

_NOTE: Alright! I've gotten a few reviews that have said the preliminary matches are getting rather repetitive (just call me Ms. Monotony!), so I've decided to go ahead and wrap Day Three and Day Four up in the same chapter! I was going to just have the preliminaries be easy so as to go ahead and get them over with, and also to save up for what's to come (which, for those of you who've read the original, don't say for the new readers' sakes!) But I said, I've wrapped them up so we get just zip by and get to the action already!_

**Now! I would like to thank every single person who has been reading, but most of all I want to thank everyone who has been reviewing! Your reviews keep me so inspired! So here's to Trugeta, Spring Rain of Harusame, animeprincess1452, Katana Midori-Fading Shadow, and Western Master 3! You're all awesome!**

**To Trugeta: Yep, it's exactly what to expect! Nothing surprising, but what are you going to do when you have Saiyans fight humans? Thank you!**

**To Spring Rain of Harusame: Thank you! And that was a good suggestion, which I'll put in the finals, as you'll find out! I know, the preliminary fights did get rather tedious, but, as you can see, I've put Day Three and Four in the same chapter to skip the wait! I hope it's still good!**

**To animeprincess1452: Thank you very much! I know, don't you just love K.O's? Well, I hope you like these fights! Thank you once again!**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: I'm glad I'm getting them over and done with, too! I myself am feeling ready for the action, and I want to get to writing the finals! Thank you!**

**To Western Master 3: Absolutely 100 percent correct! They will fight each other...Thank you so much for reviewing, too! Hope you like the chapter!**

**Here it is, then...**

_Day Three – Chain, Goten, and Dea_

Next morning, Chain, in preparation for her fight this day, had risen around four in the morning, and headed outside to warm up. She quietly crept out of the room, careful not to disturb Bra, who was still slumbered. When she closed the door silently behind her, she made a dash for it down the stairs and out to the wide, grassy lawn in front of the hotel.

The sky was still dark, and random chirps from crickets floated out across the serene atmosphere. The air was still cool and crisp, which was all the better for Chain.

She began her warm-ups by stretching her legs and reaching her fingertips for her toes. She grabbed them and held on for several patient minutes before doing the same with the other leg. Then, she rose from her spot and began a rhythmic movement of different stances.

Once finished with her more tranquil movements, she moved on to swift and hard punches in the air, followed by graceful, high kicks and a few clawing motions.

At around six, when the sun started to rise up over the horizon, Chain went back inside for some breakfast. Once again she grabbed her mountain of food and sat down at the table to start inhaling her meal, starting with her first few dozen sausages.

As with yesterday, Goten and Bra were the first two to come down from their rooms, smiling and conversing quietly with another. After piling their plates high with food, they joined Chain at the table, where said girl seemed not to notice them.

Eventually, everyone else arrived, and managed to avoid a confrontation with King Kai's students. Dea was looking irritable, especially after the most unfortunate 'conversation' she'd had with the Sons yesterday.

Sena seemed more unconcerned, which slightly reassured Goku and the others about the two of them. Maybe they weren't as bad as they seemed, after all. Just very quiet...

**Chain**

Chain was the very first to be called forward today. "_Chain and Kale! Will our two competitors please come forward?_"

Goku and Vegeta watched as she stepped out to the arena, followed closely by a somewhat humiliated human. Kale obviously didn't seem to be too pleased with his match, seeing as how Chain was just a seven-year-old girl. That and the fact that she was wearing a large bandage. It didn't give her a good impression.

Vegeta saw just how resentful his daughter's glare was. Evidently, she'd noticed the way that Kale was looking at her, and wasn't at all happy about it.

"_Ready!_" The announcer gave the signal. "_Fight!_"

And Chain, standing not two feet from her opponent, watched with a faint scowl as Kale brought his fist down upon her head. She blocked the hit effortlessly with her wrist and then struck two of her fingers directly on his forehead.

For a moment, Kale seemed to be stunned, until his eyes involuntarily shut and he crashed back onto the metal platform.

The announcer inspected him, and grinned. "_Ladies and gentlemen, it's a K.O! Chain is the winner of the match! Let's hear it for her!_"

Now this was fantastic! The crowd nearly cried themselves hoarse as they cheered the young half-Saiyan on. That kid had just brought an adult down using only her fingers! And that was certainly an impressive sight!

**Goten**

"_Goten and Rin! Please step forward!_" As soon as his name was called, Goten stepped outside of the boundaries of the platform, and made his way over to the center of the arena.

Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Videl all watched him approach with subtle and confident grins on their faces. "He looks so much like his father, Chi-Chi," Videl said.

"Tell me about it. Especially with that outfit on," she laughed, commenting on his dark blue gi.

Goten stared at his rival with readiness and patience gleaming in his eyes, fists clenched in an almost relaxed manner.

Rin, on the other hand, looked impatient, with an expression lingering over his face that said, 'I don't have time for this. Let's just get it over with.'

"_Ready,_" and the announcer stepped back. "_Fight!_"

Goten, not wanting to allow the fight to be drawn out, immediately and effortlessly aimed his fist for Rin's gut, which was enough to stun him to the point of rendering him unconscious.

Rin fell back, and even the audience could tell that he'd been knocked out from where they sat.

"Yep, like his father," Bulma nodded, smiling.

"_It's another K.O. folks! Goten is victorious!_"

He turned and headed back to the side of the platform to join his friends and family while the multitude cheered. The booming cries that overflowed from the coliseum were certainly astounding, but they just couldn't compare with Bra's radiant smile, one that caused Goten to grin and blush.

**Dea**

"_Will Dea and Terri please step into the ring?_"

Dea headed out to the middle of the arena soon after her name was called, never bothering to gaze over at Terri.

Terri wasn't really afraid or unafraid of Dea. She had a healthy sense of curiosity toward her, but for the most part didn't allow much of an expression to show.

Vegeta and Goku were observing Dea's poise, trying to learn as much about her fighting style as possible by just examining the manner in which she stood, the way her eyes shone, and even how she breathed.

Terri hesitantly fell into a fighting stance, unsure of whether it was a good idea or not. Her opponent hadn't gone into a fighting stance; hence it was difficult for her to tell what the half-Saiyan was planning.

Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Videl all paid close attention to what was about to ensue.

"_Ready! Fight!_"

And, swiftly, the quiet woman swung her fist around from the side, sending Terri out of the ring.

The announcer trotted over to where Terri lay unmoving, shifting his sunglasses on the bridge of his nose before nodding. "_Yes, ladies and gentlemen! It's another ring out and K.O. in one! Let's hear it for Demi!_"

The crowd couldn't contain themselves from screaming and shouting in excitement for these matches. These fighters were incredibly strong, and it was almost unreal!

_Day Four – Sena, Goku, and Vegeta_

**Sena**

"_Will our two contestants, Sena and Caine, please come forth?_"

The three women in the amphitheater seats all gazed in Sena's direction with curiosity lit up on their faces.

And they weren't the only ones. Vegeta and Goku observed the 'dead' woman as they had with Dea, hoping to learn as much about her fighting techniques as possible. Again, they inspected her breathing, the way her eyes gleamed, and how tense or relaxed she was. Vegeta managed to recognize her actions as being tranquil and simultaneously aware.

King Kai sensed that the two Saiyan men were surveying his student, and glanced from one to the other from behind his sunglasses.

"_Ready! Fight!_"

Sena connected her lower palm with Caine's face, and simply that had ended their unexciting match.

"_It's a ring out, ladies and gentlemen! Sena is declared the winner!_"

As she made her way back to join her sister, she noticed that King Kai gave her a nod of encouragement.

**Goku**

"_Our next competitors are...Goku and Fran!_"

Goku, acknowledging the announcer, nodded and made his way around the barrier poles and to the center of the ring.

He glanced side-long at Fran, who averted his gaze by staring ahead. Well, it was a shame that she wasn't going to win. She looked rather confident...

"_Ready! Fight!_"

A single hit was sufficient in sending her out across the metal arena and to the grass before the very front seats of the coliseum. People sitting there gasped and 'Awwed' in their shock, leaning over the wall to look down at the girl lying at their feet.

"_Yes, it's another ring out, and in only one hit! Goku is declared the winner, so let's hear it for him!_"

The multitude responded with such enthusiasm that Goku could not help but grinn and wave up at them. Before turning back to join his friends and family, he waved to his wife, friend, and daughter-in-law, who gave him their supportive thumbs-up.

**Vegeta**

"_Will our next participators, Vegeta and Ore, please come forward?_"

Now it was the Royal Saiyan's turn, and, as almost everyone present predicted, he would end this match as soon as it began. Bra and Chain in particular, wore grins as they watched their father head out to where the announcer stood.

Vegeta scowled in a (for him) relatively tolerant way toward his rival, Ore, who was obviously intimidated by the appearance. Yes, this match was going to be very short...

. . . . . .

From high up in the main tower of the stadium, a young girl leaned on the windowsill, grinning as she kept her eyes glued to Vegeta and Ore. "So..." She turned to Morgan, the computer. "I hope you've got everything we need for tonight in check. It's our last chance to get everything prepared for the finals."

"I've been just waiting to get everything ready," he replied, his neon green volume wave fluctuating with his tone.

"Great," the girl smiled. "Are you excited? It's going to be spectacular!"

"You keep using that word. You have heard of synonyms, haven't you?"

She scowled.

"Okay, okay. Yes, I'm excited...if a computer can be excited at the prospect of fights..."

. . . . . .

Vegeta chopped the side of his hand at the back of Ore's head. And with that, the match was over. All anyone needed to see was the unconscious figure of Ore collapsing to the floor and they realized it was finished.

"_K.O. ladies and gentlemen! Simply spectacular, give it up for Vegeta!_"

The Saiyan Prince returned to the side of the platform, where Chain smiled up at him in apparent joy that he'd won. His usual hard appearance softened with his youngest daughter's smile.

"They were so good, weren't they?" Bulma said, and grinned over at her two friends.

Videl nodded in agreement. "They definitely were."

"And tomorrow's the finals!" Chi-Chi exclaimed. "I have no doubt they're going to do very well then. Our families have all been working so hard. I think it's finally going to pay off for them."

**I hope you all liked the chapter. And now the finals are closer than ever, as well as finally knowing who Dea's Luck Man is! Review!**


	16. Just Sparring

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

_NOTE: I've received several reviews saying that in the end of Dea's match, the announcer declares that it is actually Demi who is the winner. So I took a look thinking 'I don't remember that!' and found out that it does indeed say that! An error on my part, it was meant to say 'Dea'! Please excuse me!_

**Now for my thanks to everyone who read the chapters, and most of all to everyone who reviewed! It's very encouraging to receive reviews, and they make me so happy! So I propose a toast to Spring Rain of Harusame, Trugeta, animeprincess1452, Katana Midori-Fading Shadow, and TIGERGRRrr!**

**To Spring Rain of Harusame: Thank you for pointing the problem out, it was good of you to correct my mistakes and I apologize for the confusion! I'm glad you liked the chapter regardless, though! And well, who can truly say with Vegeta and Chain?**

**To Trugeta: They always do! Oh, finally I got them all over with, though, and I can move on to the truly exciting matches! Glad you're looking forward to the action, too! And you still think Dea's Lucky Man will be Broli, eh? Well...it's a good guess, but you'll just have to read!**

**To animeprincess1452: Thank you so much for the compliment! K.O's are so much fun, and I enjoy them, myself! Thank you once again for your encouraging compliment!**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: Thank you! Synonyms are so helpful, and fun! I like to look synonyms up on my computer just for the heck of it sometimes! I would also like to thank you for pointing out the mistake I made in my typing. I did mean put 'Dea' down; it just gets confusing when you write such similar names all the time.**

**To TIGERGRRrr, chapter 13: Thank you! So you think Dea should swallow her pride too, huh? And yes, the unexpectedness is something that makes a story interesting! Thanks again!**

**To TIGERGRRrr, chapter 14: So glad you did!**

**To TIGERGRRrr, chapter 15: Thank you for the support and for the good luck wish! Hope you like it when it comes, which will be...either tomorrow or the day after, depend on it!**

**Here it is, then...**

Chain was snuggled comfortably in bed, her head sunk into her soft pillow and the blankets tucked over her securely. She was purring softly in her deep slumber, curled up contentedly with her hands clenching the sheets.

Bra, too, was sound asleep in her bed. The atmosphere was calm, cool, and made them want to sleep even more, safe within the warmth of their blankets.

Suddenly, Chain began to stir. She moved her head back slightly and stretched her legs out while tossing over onto her other side. For a moment she seemed to calm down, breathing silently and remaining still, until another stirring movement broke the tranquility. She began to whimper again, until finally her tight-shut eyes opened and she stared up at the ceiling.

Bra still slumbered on her side of the room, but Chain couldn't fall back asleep. She sat up drowsily and glanced over to the green glowing numbers on her alarm clock, which read one-thirty-nine. She rubbed her head and yawned.

**'Oh, I can't go back to sleep...'** she thought. **'I want to...but...'** She folded her hands together firmly. **'Something doesn't feel right. I just have this feeling in my chest that something's going on.'**

She crawled out of bed and went over to the window, where she moved the closed curtains aside and gazed out to the world. It was dark, with no moon out, and above her a few stars had settled in the heavens. She didn't see anything other than that, though, and dismissed her odd intuition with a tired shrug before heading back to her warm, beckoning bed.

. . . . . .

Dea sat up from her sleep and put a hand to her forehead. She groaned in fatigue and then sighed, glancing at her clock. It read two-fifteen...Too early, even if she had woken up when she didn't want to. Something was keeping her from resting. She just had this feeling in her stomach that something wasn't as it should be.

Suddenly, her eyes started to sting again, and she began to blink over and over while tears rushed out excessively and ran down her cheeks. She tried wiping the tears away, but each time she did another one streamed down and she was forced to sit there and blink while the tears flowed and her eyes burned.

. . . . . .

The next morning, Chain and Dea, from their inability to rest, decided it was time to get up, and both got ready for the day.

After showering, Chain headed out to the grassy lawn before the hotel, and once again warmed up. She started with some fast sit-ups and moved on to a few pushups, before she finally stood up and finished off with graceful stances.

As she fell into her last practice stance, she sensed an approaching Ki, and spun around to gaze up at Dea.

Both of them halted and stared at one another with dark, narrowed eyes, penetrating the other's gaze. They held their arms at their sides calmly, and continued to stand there, never blinking.

At first, a sense of hostility lingered between the two half-Saiyans, until suddenly the hard look in their eyes was replaced by a gleam of understanding.

Neither of them spoke, but even without an exchange of words, the two females identified with one another. Their hard stares, their silent nature, their subtle it be that they were somewhat alike?

Without hesitation, Chain put her hands together and bowed to Dea.

The latter returned the gesture of respect, and saw that Chain had stood straight again with her fists clenched.

Dea straightened her posture, as well, and clenched her fists in the same manner.

Without warning, Chain came at Dea with a ready fist, which was held back by a strong and sturdy palm.

Dea raised her other hand and brought it around to chop the young demi-Saiyan in the back of the neck, but said girl had already leapt up into the air to evade it.

She attempted to bring a kick to the older girl's face, but Dea brought her arms up and crossed them in defense. Then, when Chain began to descend once more, Dea sent a light punch down to her head, which was blocked with another confronting fist.

Chain pushed the hit out of the way and tried kicking out at the other's feet, but that too was defended.

Dea rammed her elbow into Chain's gut, causing her to fly back a couple of meters. However, as she came to the ground, she set her feet down nimbly to catch her balance and faced her 'opponent,' hands held out in another stance.

Then, she rushed out and attempted to punch the elder half-Saiyan in the stomach, but was defended against. Then, Dea connected the back of her hand with her 'rival's' face, and knocked back about two feet.

When Chain looked back up, she found that the other fighter was already waiting for her to make her next move, and that she did, trying to kick out at a swift-evading Dea.

The two demi-Saiyans continued their sparring match for the remainder of the morning, until the sun was above the horizon, shining on the grass beneath their feet, and they decided it was time to head back in for breakfast...where they would go their separate ways.

**I hope you all liked the chapter! Please let me know what you thought and review!**


	17. Please Welcome

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

_NOTE: I may not be able to update as quickly as I have been lately. I need some time to think and give my chapters more quality. Anyway, I'd rather update less often and present well-written chapters than update every day and present bad ones. Sorry!_

**Thank you so much to everybody who's been reading, and most of all to everybody who reviewed! You guys are all awesome, and your reviews always support me! Thank you to Trugeta, Spring Rain of Harusame, Katana Midori-Fading Shadow, TIGERGRRrr, animeprincess1452, Western Master 3, and Bluddu4hel!**

**To Trugeta: Thank you! I'm glad to hear that it was well-written, and I thought you might appreciate the fact that Dea and Chain identify with one another. And I know you must be impatient to find out who the 'match' is, but hang in there, because it's just about here!**

**To Spring Rain of Harusame: Thank you! And yes, I would have to say that Dea is a challenge for Chain, so she got a good sparring match! Hope you like the chapter, then!**

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: Well, what kind of interesting did you mean, there? Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, I'm going to try hard not to have any spelling mistakes...I hate those...**

**To TIGERGRRrr: They do seem alike, don't they? Anyway, sorry to keep you in such suspense, but I am glad that you like what's happening. Thank you!**

**To animeprincess1452: Thank you very much! I'm so glad you liked the sparring in the chapter! Well, I hope you like this chapter, as well! Thanks again!**

**To Western Master 3: Intriguing! I had no idea you were a virus...**

**To Bluddu4hel: Thank you for the compliment! I always try to make my stories good, especially this one. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you like this chapter!**

**Okay, then...**

Later that morning, Goku and the others all headed out to the coliseum, ready to begin the finals in the tournament. Again, Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Videl all bid their families good luck and headed up to their reserved seats.

Everybody was keyed up for this day, though not all of them may have shown it. Vegeta simply fixed his gaze on the empty arena, arms crossed, while Dea kept her eyes shut.

Tears were literally flooding from her eyes now, and she had altogether given up trying to keep her cheeks dry. Sena was concerned about this, of course, but knew it was best not to bring the subject up.

The multitude seated in the coliseum was thrilled about today, too, and a general hum of ardor filled the atmosphere.

Bulma looked out across the ring to the side of the platform and glued her eyes on her family. They were undoubtedly prepared. Then she glanced at the large group of people in the seats, noticing the manner in which they were unable to just sit still. "Wow, everybody's raring to go, huh?"

"Well, yeah," Chi-Chi answered. "This place is even more notable than the stadium at the Tenkaichi Budokai. It gives a more regal impression."

Bulma gave a small laugh. "You should tell that to Vegeta..."

. . . . . .

"Today's the day," the eager girl squealed, staring out of her window to the fighters below. "Finally, the best fights ever! And I'm just dying to see the look on their faces once our 'guests' come out."

"But something is also bothering you," Morgan replied. "I can tell."

"Well, I'm just a little apprehensive as to how our equipment is going to hold up out there. Mainly our cameras."

"You needn't be concerned about the cameras. I took the liberty of instructing some of our employees to attach a Ki Device to them, which shall protect them from any interference in both the quality of the shots and physical harm."

The girl's interest was hooked at these words. "Go on..."

Morgan displayed a picture of extensively planned blueprints for a small, circular gadget on his screen. "I invented the Ki Device myself, even though I couldn't personally put it together. It's a special piece designed specifically for protecting any vulnerable gear." He switched to another blueprint picture. "You will notice the complex inner electric planning; this allows the Ki Device to contain and store energy from living beings. When the cameras are turned on, it will promptly be activated, and 'fight fire with fire' so to speak."

"So you're saying..."

"First of all, you ought to know that normally when two attack energies meet at the same point, the result is combustion...or an explosion. However, because of the intricate electrical structure inside our device, our own harmless Ki will break incoming Ki up into exceptionally small energy waves, and in doing so, eliminate the destructive energy. And voila. No damage."

The girl smiled in delight. "Morgan, you are a genius. I like it when you get ahead of my thinking."

"Don't mention it. Well, why don't we check the time?" He displayed the numbers for the time on his large, high-definition screen. "Only a few minutes left. You know what to do, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Be sure to sound professional and knowledgeable, and above all, do not arouse more suspicion than is necessary. You've told me over and over..." She picked a cordless mic up off of the table in the room. "Well, I'm ready."

. . . . . .

Vegeta was growing slightly impatient. His indifferent expression changed to a subtle scowl, and Chain recognized that look. She nervously glanced back out to the center of the ring, hoping things would move along a little...

At last, the announcer, firmly gripping his mic once again, stepped up onto the platform and waved an arm out to the crowd. "_Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience, and welcome to the finals in Hurricane Archipelago's Martial Arts Tournament!_"

They cheered enthusiastically, throwing confetti out over the seats.

"_Our fighters have proven their skills, and now only a few remain to battle it out in the last day of this marvelous event! However, before we let them begin, our sponsor would like to say a few words._" With that, he lowered his mic and stood still.

"I wonder what the sponsor could have to say," Gohan told the others, and Trunks shrugged.

After a short pause, a small female voice echoed across the stadium, surprising almost everyone who was present. Goku snapped his head in the direction of the speakers in astonishment, while Vegeta frowned in suspicion.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming. First of all, I would like to cordially thank each of our contestants for participating in our tournament. You have all fought well, contestants, and have earned your way to the finals. But before I bid you good luck, I do believe an introduction is in order. We have some new arrivals, of which I'm sure you'd be most interested to meet."

At the opposite end of the coliseum, a colossal pair of double-doors began to creak open. The rumbling of their steady and gradual movement echoed through the amphitheater, creating tension in both participators and onlookers.

Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Videl leaned all the way forward to catch sight of what was behind the doors, while their family and friends were standing in total apprehension.

Finally the doors stood wide open, revealing a gathering of fighters. But they weren't just any fighters...

"Please welcome our distinguished guests that have come here straight from the depths of Hell. Let's try to make this time as interesting for them as we can, please."

The less-terrified onlookers were extremely confused. "Who are those people? They look really weird..."

"What the heck is that guy supposed to be?"

"What are they wearing?"

The human fighters, completely dumbstruck and horrified at the sight of these strange-looking people, didn't know what to do. That is, until the sponsor spoke back up. "For those of you who have a great fear of dying, I suggest you forfeit immediately."

They didn't need to be told twice! With those intimidating words (and the intimidating glares from the newly arrived competitors), the human participators turned on their heels and retreated. Goku, Gohan, Trunks, Pan, Bra, and Chain glanced back to the fleeing figures in perplexity.

Vegeta scowled in revulsion at one of the opposing fighters. **'So, he has the nerve to come back and show his disgusting face?'** The Royal Saiyan was most seriously displeased.

Sena and Demi were far from glad to see two particular people. They wanted nothing to do with those two...

One in the group, though, was plainly dumbstruck. Dea, with her red eyes widened (though no longer flowing with tears) and her mouth fallen open, was staring at someone she'd never seen before. A particular tall man that accompanied the rest of Hell's fighters was standing with his arms crossed and an impatient glare on his face.

She continued gawk at him, until suddenly she felt herself losing her balance, and had to slump forward and lean on the railing to keep on her feet. That man was...well...he just made her feel...

He suddenly met her gaze, looking directly into her eyes. Dea felt shivers run up her spine and down her arms, and she gasped under her breath. Whoever he was...he...

**I'm sorry to have left you all in suspense, especially to you newer readers and those who have been eager to know who Dea's Lucky Man is. But I thought leaving it like this would be better...Review!**

_A note to those who read the original: I think you all will be surprised to see some new faces from Hell, and the new matches. I even did a drawing of names, and there's going to be matches where bad guys face off against other bad guys!_


	18. Of Family and Enemies

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

_NOTE: To newer readers, the name Hiro is pronounced _high_-row._

**Now, I would like to thank everybody who has been reading, and most of all everybody who has reviewed! Your reviews mean so much to me and I truly appreciate them, so here is my great thanks to Spring Rain of Harusame, animeprincess1452, Trugeta, Katana Midori-Fading Shadow, TigerGRRrr, and Western Master 3! You guys are spectacular!**

**To Spring Rain of Harusame: _What_? No! Ick! That's just terrible, I would never think of doing something like that...But thanks for reviewing anyway! I think you'll be...er...relieved to know who Dea's match actually is. **

**To animeprincess1452: Thank you for the compliments! What can I say, it's good to know that you really enjoy the story! Thank you, and I hope you like this chapter, too!**

**To Trugeta: Thank you for the compliment on the idea! And it's good to know that it did make sense, for I struggled with it for quite some time. As for Dea's 'match,' now you can finally find out! **

**To Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: Thank you! Well, yes, less updates and more quality are better. Plus it takes a load off! By the way, that's a pretty good guess as to Dea's interest, but you can finally see by reading!**

**To TigerGRRrr: Thank you! It's nice to hear that I'm good at suspense, at least, and I do seem to be doing that quite often, don't I? Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**To Western Master 3: Boy, that's quite an ambition! Well, good luck taking over the world!**

**Now the chapter...**

Goku, Vegeta and a few of their friends and family had recovered from their shock quickly enough, and their puzzled expressions rapidly changed to offended, dark glares. These 'new arrivals,' as the young sponsor had so mentioned them, were none other than their unwelcome former enemies...

The sponsor continued. "I am pleased to present to you some of the greatest fighters in history: The two great creators and scientists, Drs. Romano and Brakes; the two extremely powerful androids, Sixteen and Seventeen; the exceptionally formidable Demon, Demelza; the violently fierce Buu; the notorious ruler, Frieza; and last but certainly not least, the four great Saiyans, Hiro, Nappa, Raditz, and Turles."

King Kai noticed the sudden change in Sena's manner. With her arms folded and her eyes reflecting a piercing hatred, he saw that she was scowling in aversion at the aforementioned Demelza...her own mother.

Trunks saw that Demi shrank away from the gaze of one of the enemy fighters, and soon found that that gaze belonged to one of the Saiyans. He could only assume why she seemed so anxious, and that would be because that particular Saiyan...Hiro...was her father.

She had only mentioned her father twice to him before, and reluctantly, at that. In her opinion, the man was not worth remembering. But now he was back – in the same stadium, even! – and Trunks could only try to calm her...

Chain looked up at her father in wonderment, studying the look on his face. She could feel a sense of acute dislike, and glanced out to the enemies. As if purposely following Vegeta's example, the young half-Saiyan narrowed her eyes at the foes she'd never met before in her life.

Goku and Gohan weren't in much more of a comfortable state. Both father and son glowered at Raditz, the one man who was supposed to be their relative, but had plainly not lived up to that fact.

Dea was still staring at the man she'd laid eyes on, barely breathing. She had been so locked and...entranced by his dark eyes that she hadn't even heard his mentioned name, thus was still left pondering as to who he was.

Of course, Goku and the others weren't the only people to be shooting dark looks and frowns. Hell's fighters were just as offended if not eager to get revenge as the sponsor had promised them, and cast threatening scowls to their adversaries...

Except for one, who was currently preoccupied with a pair of shining, black eyes. There was a woman with a halo at the opposite end of the platform who seemed to be staring at him. Her eyes were somewhat red and a bit swollen; she'd either been crying or her eyes were burning. But Turles wondered why she'd been watching him so, and who she was.

. . . . . .

Dende, intently watching what was going on below, grinned in triumph, and continued to congratulate himself. **'Dende, my good man, you are a genius. Dea is hooked, there's no doubt about it! And from the looks of it, that Turles guy is a little...dare I say interested...in her, as well. I just knew they would be a good match for one another!'**

And now he would just sit back and let everything take its own course. However, the Kami of Earth couldn't wait to see what would ensue. He might even get a laugh out of the situation! Yes, Dea was going to eat her words very soon...

. . . . . .

With a startled jump (except for the enemy competitors), everyone looked back up at the speakers when the sponsor suddenly resumed what she was saying. "So, contestants, good luck. Because you are all going to need it..."

"Does she mean us?" Pan asked anxiously, and when everyone stared wide-eyed at her, she turned red and laughed nervously.

After everything finally registered with them, Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Videl suddenly scowled down at the group of unwelcome visitors. "What are those...those monsters up to?" Bulma snarled.

"Yeah! Just what do they think they're doing here?" Chi-Chi asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Videl crossed her arms. "Well, they don't know what they're getting into..."

"You got that right. None of these morons stand a chance against our husbands."

"Or our children for that matter!"

At that moment, the sponsor recommenced with speaking to the crowd. "_Ladies and gentlemen, we are ready to proceed with the finals! Because of our newer contestants' late arrivals, there will not be a drawing of names, but instead, our computer will randomly match each participator with one another, and determine who is to face off against whom!_"

"I'm all for a bit of a challenge," Brakes grinned, gazing up at the computer screen as she folded her arms.

"You would be," Seventeen snapped back, not bothering to glance at her.

She grimaced. "Do I know you...?"

"So, we have to fight them?" Bra wondered.

Pan clenched her fists. "Fight them? Are you crazy? We can't just fight them in a tournament like there's nothing strange about it, just pretending like everything's okay that they're here. That just doesn't make sense...does it?"

"I don't think we have much of a choice," Gohan replied. Pan raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. "Think about it, Pan. Sena, Dea, and King Kai are here, and obviously not by mistake. Now an entire group of our dead enemies arrives to battle it out. And let's not forget about the sponsor..."

"Oh, right," Goten nodded, listening in. "The sponsor; to say that hearing her was odd would definitely be an understatement."

Pan glanced up at them. "Look, I get what you two are saying about all of this being unusual, but I still don't understand what you're truly hinting at."

"Someone deliberately wants us to fight them," Goten answered with a serious expression and tone. "And I don't think they're going to let us ease our way out of it..."

**There! I got the chapter done, and I hope you all enjoyed it! Now the actual battles are just about here, and will begin soon! Review!**


	19. Final Matches

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBallZ.

_NOTE: All but two of the fights have been randomly selected by a drawing of character names. Except for those selected two (which were planned out for the sake of character development), all of the fights are completely random and not based on any preference of matches._

**And now for my thanks to everyone who reviewed! You really made my day with all of your support, and you just don't know how much it means to me! Thank you so much to Trugeta, Spring Rain of Harusame, Western Master 3, TIGERGRRrr, animeprincess1452, and A Fading Shadow!**

**To Trugeta: I hope that you weren't terribly disappointed that Dea's match turned out to be Turles...However, I do believe you'll appreciate the interaction between them, once it begins! And you are right about Buu being reincarnated into Uub when Goku defeated him, which I knew. However, I do hope that you can dismiss it just this once! Thank you!**

**To Spring Rain of Harusame: It is Super Buu, who actually happened to take the place of Cell, of whom I was originally going to include. Anyway, thank you for reviewing, and I hope this chapter meets with your approval!**

**To Western Master 3: That they are, and I hope you like them once I get to writing them!**

**To TIGERGRRrr: Yes, I have the habit of leaving my readers in suspense, that I do! But, if it makes you feel any more informed, I leave my chapters on suspenseful notes because it also motivates me to write, as it causes me to want to continue from where I left off, usually as soon as I find the time. Thank you!**

**To animeprincess1452: Thank you so very much! I'm so glad that you thought it was a good chapter, for that always makes me happy and supports me in my hard work! Fortunately I've managed to take a break from college in order to write again, and I can finally update...**

**To A Fading Shadow: Ah, I see you've changed your penname once again! And I like it, for it is still originally creative as well as simple. Anyway, it's great to know that you're very excited to see the matches that are soon to come, and I hope you like this chapter!**

**Here is the chapter, then!**

Pan contemplated for a moment on what her uncle had just spoken of, and the more it sank in, the more she was persuaded to believe that it was true. Everything that was happening seemed to be too carefully planned out to be mere coincidence, hence the fact that they would undoubtedly be unable to 'ease out' of this tournament...

Although Goku felt acute abhorrence toward the enemy 'team,' he too realized that there was no possible way that he – or anyone else for that matter – would be able to avoid a confrontation. They had no alternative this time...

On the other hand, Hell's fighters were eager to begin the first rounds of the finals, and, having been promised revenge by the ambitious (even if surprisingly young) sponsor, gazed up at the silver computer screens to see whom their primary targets would be.

All the while, the battlers thought ahead to the future brawls, repeatedly reminding themselves not to arouse too much suspicion in their adversaries within the first few rounds. It would, after all, be pointless, not to mention too informative, and that they did not want...

. . . . . .

**Flashback...**

The summoned figures from Hell, all standing underneath hovering shadows and apparently puzzled as to their situation, browsed around the room from every angle, wondering where in the name of all creation they had so abruptly arrived at.

Demelza, with her darkness-trained vision, was able to identify each object in the black room, realizing that she and the others were standing in a kind of anteroom. The only question that nagged at her mind was why she was here, especially since she was surrounded by a large group of people she barely knew, although she did recognize some of their races.

After a prolonged (and surprisingly quiet) moment, a young human girl with a small computer attached to her brown leather belt, approached, carrying a metal box in her hands and eyeing each present fighter with a knowledgeable reflection.

It was only after the anonymous girl had explained each matter to her summoned-from-Hell guests that they had been successfully persuaded, and agreed to participate in her extensively planned tournament.

Quite enthusiastic as to their response of the situation, the girl handed her heavy metal box up to them, and they looked inside to find an abundant supply of black leather gloves, each pair suited to the individual structures of their hands.

"What are these?" Seventeen asked, narrowing his eyes as he held one of the gloves up by a fingertip.

"We created those to help you," she replied. "Each glove has been equipped with subtle wires that neither you nor your opponents shall notice during competition. They are all designed to unnoticeably raise your power level and durability in order to aid you in your fights."

"And how would that be?" the interested scientist Romano inquired.

"It's a creation of ours that we have recently been able to master by using electricity and Ki. Through electrical aid, we have managed to manipulate Ki by causing each energy wave to either shrink, grow, decrease, or increase, depending on what is desired. In this case, your own Ki will be empowered by the electrical response from micro-wires set in the material. In other words, the electricity and your Ki will work together to create larger energy waves, thereby increasing the destructive power as well as reserving your stored energy since you don't need to use as much. They will do just about everything except help you transform, for those of you who have the ability." She smiled.

"Nice," Seventeen replied, and slipped on a pair of the black leather gloves. Already he could feel his artificial Ki being dramatically increased, which he was certain would allow him to take easy victories...

. . . . . .

**End Flashback...**

After the computers had randomly matched each competitor, the announcer spoke back out to the confused crowd, mentioning each face-off.

**Finals**

_1 – Android Sixteen_ versus _Pan_

_2 – Chain_ versus _Hiro_

_3 – Dea_ versus _Turles_

_4 – Gohan_ versus _Goku_

_5 – Brakes_ versus _Buu_

_6 – Trunks_ versus _Android Seventeen_

_7 – Romano_ versus _Vegeta_

_8 – Goten_ versus _Demi_

_9 – Demelza_ versus _Raditz_

_10 – Sena_ versus _Bra_

_11 – Nappa_ versus _Frieza_

Goku and Vegeta thought for a steady moment, gazing up with the knowledge that they would soon be forced to fight these revenge-thirsty adversaries, obliviously overlooking one very crucial fact: Their visitors from Hell had, through the aid of their technologically advanced gloves, become stronger...

**I know it's short, but please don't let this bother you. I prefer to make my chapters only as long as they need to be instead of killing time just to make a long chapter. Please review!**


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